New drug gives HIV infected couples ray of hope

A cocktail of drugs known as PrEP which is on trial is giving a ray of hope to HIV positive couples who can now try to conceive in a risk-free mode.

The drug which is already being used for gay men in the UK and US is now used in Kenya to help couples there have a family without risking their health.

Read also: 30 hostages freed in Burkina Faso hotel attack

There are potentially 26,000 couples in Kenya where one partner is positive and the other negative. Known as serodiscordant couples, they account for 44% of new HIV infections in the country. Despite this, 44% of these couples have had children together.

But the drive to have children is still very strong – in one recent study involving serodiscordant couples 17% of the women became pregnant and this new drug may offer more HIV infected couples to have children without the fear of passing on the virus to their child or partner.

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