Half a million Americans should consider taking Truvada, a pill that prevents HIV infection. This is the upshot of updated clinical guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public heath bodies released last week. Truvada (tenofovir/emtricitabine) has had a rocky start since it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2012. Fewer than 1800 prescriptions were written in the first year it became available, in part because general practice doctors have not been educated about its use, and because it is also a treatment for HIV, so it is associated with having the infection. The head of the US AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Michael Weinstein, also kicked up a public controversy earlier this year when he questioned whether Truvada really works. He labelled it “a party drug” that gives people licence to practice unsafe sex. There has also been a trend to label those who use the drug as “Truvada whores”, although this is now being challenged, especially through social media.

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