The British HIV Association/British Association for Sexual Health and HIV Position Statement on pre-exposure prophylaxis in the UK

The intention of this Position Statement is to inform UK healthcare workers on the role of antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in the setting of the UK HIV epidemic, so that they can have an informed discussion with their patients. Recent results from clinical trials of PrEP have made it imperative to investigate whether this biomedical tool will have a useful part to play in HIV prevention in the UK. However, it is not possible to review the evidence for this biomedical intervention in isolation, as PrEP (systemic and topical) is one of several methods in the prevention package, and one of four biomedical tools available; the other three being medical male circumcision, postexposure prophylaxis following sexual exposure and early treatment of the positive partner. We have therefore broadened the scope of the Position Statement to attempt to put the evidence for PrEP in context, both in terms of the characteristics of the UK epidemic and in terms of the evidence for other biomedical interventions. We took note of the current guidelines on the topic of HIV prevention, including those that are out for consultation.