The AIDS epidemic has claimed an estimated 40 million lives since the 1980s. The HIV virus causes AIDS, but the days of a diagnosis being an automatic death sentence are gone.
Now some medical professionals say that ending the transmission of HIV is entirely within reach with the universal treatment of pre-exposure prophylaxis also known as PrEP.
PrEP prevents HIV from gaining hold and spreading throughout the body. It’s estimated that PrEP treatment can reduce the risk of HIV transmission via sex by more than 90%.
At Neighborhood Family Practice, a multi-location health center on the west side of Cleveland, doctors, nurses and staff are working towards that zero-transmission goal. But, they say there are some key steps that have to be taken to get there. One of them is to have people tested.
Guests:
-Lisa Navracruz, M.D., HIV Primary Care Program Director, Neighborhood Family Practice
-Brittani Flory, HIV Prevention Nurse, Neighborhood Family