HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It’s a virus that’s passed from person to person through the bloodstream. Once HIV is in the bloodstream, it begins to attack a person’s immune system and works to kill off healthy immune system cells.

Sexual partners of people with HIV in New Zealand could soon have a revolutionary pill to prevent contracting the virus funded.

Pharmac announced it will begin consultation on a proposal to fund the daily pill which was first developed in 2012, and if taken by an HIV negative person can protect them from the virus.

The medicine is called Truvada, but the pill is referred to as PrEP due to the method of administering it - before any exposure or pre-exposure prophylaxis.

NAVESH CHITRAKAR/REUTERS Since 1988, the world has come together on 1 December to unite in the fight against HIV, show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from AIDS-related illnesses.

A study of 343 gay couples who used the drug where one partner had HIV and the other did not, did not find a single case of HIV transmission in over 17,000 acts of unprotected sex.

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The executive director of the New Zealand AIDS Foundation, Dr Jason Myers, said the pill and its potential funding were "game-changers for HIV prevention".

"We must use these tools to not only end transmissions of HIV, but to get people talking about HIV again and break down the myths that are still out there.



"HIV stigma and discrimination remain very real for people living with HIV in New Zealand and the success of HIV treatment in reducing infectiousness, as well as the uptake of PrEP, provides a direct challenge to this."

NEW TOOL TO OVERCOME TREATMENT BARRIERS

The new interactive tool is projected to help Kiwis living with HIV better communicate with healthcare providers.

The Unity Tool, which will be introduced to New Zealand this month, uses an online form to take patients through a series of questions which when answered creates an appointment guide they can take to their healthcare provider for further discussion on issues of concern.

Dr Ian Griffiths, medical director of GSK NZ, said the tool is a "useful precursor to a patient appointment as it helps them identify and describe problems and facilitate a more meaningful conversation with their specialist".

"There can be a wide range of reasons why people living with HIV may not be able to communicate openly with their doctor face-to-face. The aim of the Unity Tool is to support those people living with HIV in their conversations with their healthcare providers over especially personal, difficult or troublesome issues which may be worrying them."

It's essential there is greater communication between people living with HIV and their medical carers as the research shows that poor interactions between the two groups has a detrimental effect on a patient's treatment adherence and quality of life, he said.

"What this tool will help us do is break down the barriers to communication between doctor and patient to ensure they optimise lifestyle choices and treatment regimens."

New Zealand will be the sixth country to receive the Unity Tool which is already being utilised in the UK, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Singapore and Spain. This resource will be hosted online and available to patients, healthcare providers and advocacy groups.

HIV DIAGNOSES ON THE RISE

The new tools are a welcome introduction after more people were diagnosed with HIV in New Zealand last year than at any other time since records began in 1985.

Figures released in July from Otago University's AIDS Epidemiology Group, show 244 people were diagnosed with HIV in New Zealand in 2016. The previous highest number of diagnoses was 224, in 2015.

The study's lead researcher, Dr Peter Saxton, said at the time it was "frustrating" to see rates of HIV infection among gay and bisexual men continuing to climb.

His researchers had no current behavioural data so "we simply don't know what's driving the increase", he said.

"There's no reason why it won't keep on increasing if we don't improve prevention."