Five years ago, Eldred Tellis heard about a “wonder drug” that could give a fighting chance to people at high risk of contracting AIDS.
Tellis’s work involves one such group – drug users in Mumbai, many of them unlettered. “They share needles often and do not understand the consequences,” said Tellis, who founded the Sankalp Rehabilitation Foundation to advocate for the healthcare of addicts. “Several end up contracting HIV.”
The human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, spreads through unprotected sex and the sharing of needles. The virus attacks the immune system and, if not treated, develops into the deadly acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS.
But the new drug, Lenacapavir, holds out hope. If injected once every six months, it can prevent the onset of AIDS even in people at high risk. “When we heard about it, we realised we could save many with Lenacapavir,” he told Scroll. “Not just drug users. Even sex workers who have no choice when their customer refuses to use a condom” stand to benefit.
Lenacapavir has shown a 96% reduction in HIV incidence, and is 89% more effective than current oral medications. Last year, the World Health Organisation recommended Lenacapavir as a pre-exposure prophylaxis.
The drug is yet to get permission for use in India. But when it...
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