HIV prevention pills soon to be more widely available in Greater Manchester

The end of an epidemic which devastated the gay community for decades is now in sight as HIV-prevention pills will soon be more widely available in Greater Manchester.

A three-year impact trial, a behavioural study rather than a medical trial, which aimed to find out how NHS provision of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) would work and what the uptake would be like, came to its conclusion in October.

NHS England has now committed to covering the costs of the drug and local authorities will receive £16m to fund provision for the rest of the financial year.

After that, councils are hoping they can continue to commission PrEP, which is taken by a person who doesn’t have HIV, to reduce risk of infection. Conversely, PEP – Post-Exposure Prophylaxis – is a strong combination of HIV medicines which can help stop you getting HIV after potentially being exposed to it.

Councils are currently working with providers to get services up and running as soon as possible, commissioning the pills for those in high risk groups.

Since the virus was identified in 1984, more than 35 million people have died of HIV-related illnesses. Nearly 37 million people are living with HIV today with over 101,000 of those in the UK, but, despite huge medical advances in treatment, HIV remains a highly stigmatised medical condition.

Public Health England estimates that over 103,800 people in the UK are living with HIV, and that, outside of London, 2,400 gay, bi and other men who have sex with men, are living with undiagnosed HIV.

According to the Terrence Higgins Trust, just 33% of gay and bisexual men are diagnosed late, whilst 60% of heterosexual men diagnosed receive a late diagnosis: when a patient has tested positive after the virus has already started to damage the immune system as measured by an immune cell count (CD4) below 350.

There may be some differences in timescales of PrEP being available across Greater Manchester, with some services accepting patients sooner than others, but those who were taking part in the impact trial can continue.

The new provision arrangements will not be capped, unlike the trial which was limited to 26,000 participants, allowing more people to access PrEP.

Stewart Humphries, who works for the LGBT Foundation has been taking PrEP for eight years. He says it has removed the worry and anxiety of having sex with someone who has HIV.

“For years, HIV was a death sentence,” he said.

“I remember growing up petrified of getting it. I saw friends suffering.”

Stewart has taken part in a PrEP impact trial at North Manchester Hospital for two years now – but before that, he used to buy the pills online from Thailand.

After moving to Manchester, Stewart heard about the PrEP impact trial, which attracted more than 20,000 participants.

He was still buying the tablets from Thailand at the time and while he was waiting for an order to arrive, he asked friends on Facebook for a favour.

Someone who had just been accepted onto the trial had enough PrEP pills to spare – and when they met, he said a space on the trial had become available.

Desperate for the sought-after space on the trial, he immediately applied.

“For me this isn’t about the individual and this isn’t about the risk on one person,” he said.

“We have the ability to end HIV in a generation. We have the drugs to be able to do this so why aren’t we doing this?

“If the NHS has the medication to be able to prevent it, I can’t understand why not?”

Orla McQuillan, is a consultant in genitourinary medicine and co-chair of the Greater Manchester Sexual Health Network Strategic Partnership Board.

She said: “In Greater Manchester we are committed to ending new HIV diagnoses within a generation.

“Every year, just over 250 people in our city region discover they have this disease. This number has fallen in recent years but we can, and must, do more.

“PrEP medication is highly effective at preventing HIV transmission so it is great news that this will soon be more widely available to those in higher risk groups.

“We are also working to raise awareness and educate as well as increasing testing and outreach activities to identify those who are living undiagnosed with HIV in Greater Manchester.”

Regularly testing for HIV is one of the main ways that people can help to end new transmissions of the virus, which can lead to AIDS if untreated.

Since 1988, World AIDS Day on 1 December has been an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV today, and to commemorate those who have died from an HIV-related illnesses.

This year, the global theme for World AIDS Day is ‘Global Solidarity, Shared Responsibility’. This year, the World AIDS Day Vigil, which usually takes part in Sackville Gardens in Manchester, has moved online and will be streamed via the George House Trust website www.ght.org.uk/vigil at 7pm on Tuesday 1 December.

Darren Knight, Chief Executive at George House Trust, said: “World AIDS Day gives us the chance to pause and think about those we have loved and lost and it’s a massively important day in shining a light on the issues that still exist.

“Recognising and marking World AIDS Day ensures that we will not forget anyone or the history of HIV and equally importantly, ensure that we work together so that everyone continues to have the support and services that they need to live happily and healthily with HIV.”

As there will be no street collections this year, a ‘text to donate’ facility has also been set up, meaning that people can still donate to the work of the organisations in the PaSH Partnership – BHA for Equality, LGBT Foundation and George House Trust.

To donate, people simply need to text ‘RIBBON’ plus the amount they wish to donate to 70085.

It is estimated that 745 people in Greater Manchester are unaware that they are living with HIV. It is recommended that people with multiple sexual partners get tested every three to six months and people with one partner should test once a year.

Testing has never been more accessible as you can now order at home HIV testing kits which just involve a quick finger prick and posting it back to the lab. You will receive your results in two to three weeks.

Gareth Jones, Sexual Health Testing Coordinator at LGBT Foundation, said: “Testing and knowing your HIV status means you can keep yourself and your partners safe, whether that is knowing that you are not living with HIV or knowing you are so you can begin effective treatment and become undetectable so you can’t pass it on.”

You can order an at home testing kit today at SortHIV.org.uk/order-test

Joseph Timan, Local Democracy Reporter

Additional reporting: Rochdale Online