A new drug that has shown success in keeping healthy people from contracting HIV is now available in Lucas County.

There have been many advances in drugs that keep those with human immunodeficiency virus from developing full-blown AIDS, but this pill therapy takes a different approach in that it seeks to prevent people in high-risk situations from ever contracting the virus, said Jerry Kerr, the HIV prevention coordinator at the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department.

The process of taking the pill daily is known as pre-exposure prophylaxis and has gone through many national clinical trials. It is supported by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has been used in other larger cities such as Cincinnati and Columbus for the past two years, said Dr. Joan Duggan, chief of infectious diseases at the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio hospital.

“If you think about pregnancy, it would be equivalent to a birth control pill, versus a morning after pill taken after the exposure. It stops people from getting infected before they’re exposed,” Dr. Duggan said.

The pill, sold under the brand name Truvada, contains two medicines, tenofovir and emtricitabine, which are used in combination with other medicines. Health officials urged people in high-risk groups to get tested and then to seek out the pill therapy.

“When taken consistently, [the pill] has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection in people who are at high risk by up to 92 percent,” the CDC said.

AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is an advanced form of the HIV disease, Mr. Kerr said. “[AIDS] just means the person with HIV has progressed and their immune system has degenerated. The only difference between an HIV positive person and one that has progressed to more infections is that they are life threatening like pneumonia or cancer,” he said.

“Folks at most risk for HIV have a larger number of partners or they have an HIV partner that they don’t trust completely — people who are wondering if their partner is being faithful, and they just can’t make the move to saying goodbye to that partner.”

Others in the high-risk category include people who have a partner with HIV, injection drug users, and men who have sex with other men, Dr. Duggan said.

“While use of the medication does decrease the risk of HIV, it does not eliminate the recommendation to use condoms to decrease the risk of HIV and it does not provide protection against any other sexually transmitted diseases or unplanned pregnancy,” she said.

HIV infections have come down slightly in Lucas County over the past few years, but there are still some 45 new HIV infections diagnosed per year, Mr. Kerr said. There are currently 203 people with HIV, per every 100,000 residents in Lucas County, he said.

The transmission rate is still very high for gay and bisexual men for a number of reasons, one of which is that they tend to have a higher number of sexual partners. But Mr. Kerr said HIV rates are down significantly for African-American women, which is quite a success story.

“[HIV] rates have been stable over the past 17 years. The hope is [the drug] will be one way to bring that figure down. Within the industry, people are cautiously saying it’s likely this will make a difference,” Mr. Kerr said.

The drug will be available through the Ryan White PrEP Clinic at the Ruppert Health Center, 3000 Arlington Ave., on the UT Health Sciences Campus. It will operate  Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

The drug is “fairly expensive,” costing about $1,500 a month and $18,000 per year, but Mr. Kerr said he does not think that will be a barrier to those who want the pills. Most insurance companies will help cover the costs, he said.

UTMC has not received any grants to cover the cost of the clinic, Dr. Duggan said.

Contact Marlene Harris-Taylor at mtaylor@theblade.com or 419-724-6091.

First Published August 4, 2015, 4:00 a.m.