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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY J.M. MAÇON OF ST. SAVIOUR
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER 2017
Question
Following the decision of NHS Scotland to pay for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as an effective preventative treatment of HIV, what review, if any, has been undertaken into Jersey adopting a similar policy; and if there has been no such review, will the Minister explain why not?
Answer
Jersey has not adopted a similar policy to Scotland.
The Director of Infection Prevention and Control/Consultant for Infectious Diseases has reviewed the position in Jersey which can be summarised as follows:
PrEP stands for pre exposure prophylaxis. It means an HIV negative person taking anti HIV drugs before exposure to HIV to prevent acquisition of HIV. The only drug licensed for this is Truvada. The license is only for continuous use rather than on demand/ad hoc use.
NICE has summarised 4 trials. These show an efficacy of 44-86% compared with placebo. All trials were part of a package including early treatment of HIV, additional risk reduction including condom use and regular screening of those receiving prophylaxis.
Side effects include gastrointestinal symptoms, headache, dizziness and after 2 years the potential for bone and kidney problems.
The NHS is recruiting 10,000 individuals in a £10 million real-life study to look at uptake, adherence, drug resistance, sexual behaviour, prioritization for prophylaxis and cost-effectiveness. Concern about altered sexual behaviour is likely to be mitigated by the ongoing support and regular screening for sexually transmitted infections including HIV.
We interact closely with England at population and medical levels and are closely following this expanded study with a view to pursuing any recommendations at its conclusion.