Announcement of the CAPRISA trial results marks a major breakthrough HIV prevention

Results of the CAPRISA 004 trial announced yesterday at the International AIDS Conference, showed a vaginal microbicidal gel containing the antiretroviral drug tenofovir (Viread) reduced the risk of HIV infection among women who received it by 39 per cent during a two-and-a-half-year study in South Africa.

NAT welcomes the findings, released today, within Professor Malcolm Harrington’s independent review of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA)*.  We fully support the call for change to ‘improve the fairness and effectiveness of the WCA’ by improving transparency, empathy and communication within the assessment process for Employment Support Allowance (ESA).

Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT (National AIDS Trust), comments:

'NAT welcome the exciting news that taking antiretroviral drugs (drugs that help treat HIV) before being exposed to HIV may prevent HIV infection. This is known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, and could become a significant weapon in the fight against HIV. 

On the day before World AIDS Day, the Government has published its Public Health White Paper 'Healthy Lives, Healthy People'.

New guidance released by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends increased testing of HIV in key risk groups.   The guidance aims to increase the uptake of HIV testing to reduce undiagnosed infection and prevent transmission among African communities and gay men.

30 years after the first known case of HIV, the House of Lords' report ‘No vaccine, no cure: HIV and AIDS in the United Kingdom’ is an important milestone in the UK's response to HIV.

NAT has welcomed the Health Protection Agency’s final report published today on expanding HIV testing in England.  The report confirms for the first time that routine ‘opt-out’ HIV testing is “feasible, acceptable and effective” in a wide range of healthcare and community settings. 

NAT today welcomes the release of the findings of Professor Malcolm Harrington’s second year independent review of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA)*, which brings the WCA a step closer to becoming a fairer and more effective test for people with fluctuating conditions like HIV.