When a 26-year-old Greek, permanently residing in another European country, returned to Greece for a long time, his suitcases were filled with daily HIV prevention – PrEP. This would cover him for three months, the maximum limit European doctors have given him – a man who has had full sex with men – and other beneficiaries. For treatment in the next trimester, he needed to take a full test for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. But after three months, he was still in Greece, where he could not get PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), although the positive recommendation of the European Medicines Agency was given from 2016, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA ). ) approved it since 2012.

“I went to the checkpoint, the HIV prevention center of the Greek HIV Positive Association Positive Voice, “and they told me I could order it online, but I didn’t feel comfortable,” he says. K. Inevitably, he stopped the lawsuit. This happened two years ago. However, soon, after the passage of the relevant bill by the Ministry of Health, PrEP will be available in Greece.

“I think this should have been done a long time ago,” Mina Psychogyu, a professor at the EKPA School of Medicine and head of the Department of Special Infections at the People’s Hospital, tells K. A few years ago, he led the only study in Greece on the prescription of PrEP to men who have sex with men, which was completed in 2020. of them were infected with HIV. “It’s extremely effective as long as you take it, and it’s a very safe drug for everyone,” he says.

“It’s extremely effective,” Theodora Hatzioannou, assistant professor of virology at Rockefeller University in New York, tells K, “according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the treatment reduces the risk of transmission of the virus.” 99% sexually transmitted virus. Ms. Hatzioannou was surprised that she had not yet come to Greece. “In America, they did tests until 2012, they were very good, since then it has been implemented and it has proven to be effective – in Greece, the drug truvada is on the way, which prevents the virus from integrating with our own genetic material,” he adds. He notes that AIDS, which causes HIV, continues to be a global epidemic “The AIDS virus is no longer as deadly as it used to be, and that’s because we have drugs like PrEP that suppress it, but they can’t cure it – it’s extremely important to protect themselves from transmission,” he notes.

According to the latest epidemiological surveillance of the HIV virus in Greece, conducted by the National Public Health Organization, in 2021, 526 new infections were registered in the country – of which 429 were men and 97 were women, with 44.1% of the causes of infection being unprotected sexual intercourse between men. , 19.8% unprotected heterosexual contact and 16.3% intravenous injection of addictive substances. Of the total of 19,265 HIV infections reported in EODY at the end of 2021, 82.5% involve men, many of whom have same-sex sex.

The risk of HIV transmission through sexual contact is reduced by 99% when PrEP is taken correctly. When PrEP is taken correctly, the risk of transmission of infection through intravenous drug use is reduced by at least 74%. In total, by the end of 2021, EODY had made 19,265 HIV diagnoses in Greece – 15,889 men (82.5%), 3335 women (17.3%), 41 people who did not specify gender (0.2%). 526 new HIV cases in Greece in 2021 – 429 (81.6%) men, 97 (18.4%) women. 44.1% of new diagnoses were transmitted through unprotected sex between men – 19.8% through heterosexual contact – 16.3% through intravenous drug exchange. Sources: CDC-EODY.

Activist and poet Eva Papadakis argues that a side benefit of PrEP treatment is the prevention of other sexually transmitted diseases due to the more frequent monitoring required to administer it. “I am very happy that, although very late, he is finally arriving in Greece,” he tells K. “Heterosexual couples come to mind who will feel more secure, as well as people who are afraid to have sex even with a condom,” he adds.

One of them, 29-year-old A., who, although he has been sexually active for 10 years, lives with an anxiety about contracting HIV that has developed into a phobia. “I think PrEP will help me get over this fear,” he says, which started mostly because he said he was ignorant. He wasn’t the only one. According to a public opinion poll on HIV conducted last year in Greece by Gilead Sciences, 41% of participants believe that they can get it from sharing a toilet, and 24% from insect bites. Worse, 28% said that people with HIV could not work in a permanent job, indicating that this infection is still taboo. Many people are not even aware that people who are being treated for HIV do not transmit it when their viral load is not detected. As Ms Hatzioannou stated, “undetectable = non-transmissible” refers to this particular virus, i.e. undetectable = non-infectious.

“This particular intervention is recommended for those who are at high risk of infection,” such as people with multiple sex partners or intravenous drug users, she says of PrEP.

The treatment procurement and disposal process and beneficiary eligibility criteria are expected to be refined by a decision to be published within the next time period, Health Minister Thanos Pleuris “K” said.

“The basis of our public policy is prevention in all areas of health,” he emphasizes, “in this direction, the Secretary General of Health, Irini Agapidaki, has developed a preventive treatment process.” “The overall goal of the ministry is to ensure the rights of LGBTI groups and the community, and for this reason we have taken a number of initiatives, such as the abolition of the blood donation form, which prohibited people in homosexual relationships from donating blood. , the abolition of conversion therapy, the protection of the rights of intersex people, the creation of an assisted reproduction unit for HIV-infected people and the introduction of antiretroviral treatment,” says Mr. Plyuris.

As for Pavlos, 39, who ordered PrEP online two years ago but showed it to his doctor before starting treatment, he believes PrEP has encouraged people to pay more attention to their health and also decriminalizes sexual intercourse. “Especially if you are gay,” he emphasizes. “The situation with HIV is chronic – yes, people didn’t die when I started having sex, but we grew up with guilt, with fear, because even a condom can break.” “I think,” he continues, “PrEP takes that burden off.”

99% The risk of sexual transmission of HIV is reduced when PrEP is taken correctly.
74% at the very least, the risk of transmission through intravenous drug use is reduced when PrEP is taken correctly.
19 265 the total number of HIV diagnoses in Greece made by EODY until the end of 2021 is 15,889 men (82.5%), 3,335 women (17.3%), 41 people who did not indicate their gender (0.2%).
526 new HIV cases in Greece in 2021 – 429 (81.6%) men, 97 (18.4%) women.
44.1% of new diagnoses is associated with transmission through unprotected sex between men – 19.8% through heterosexual contacts – 16.3% through intravenous drug exchange.

Sources: CDC-EODY.