--- title: CDC Recommends Anti-HIV Drug for High-Risk Groups description: The daily medication, sold in generic form as Truvada, could transform AIDS prevention in America. If taken regularly, the drug can reduce risk of infection in high-risk populations by up to 92%, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says canonical: https://time.com/100266/cdc-anti-hiv-pill-recommendation/ author: Denver Nicks article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-15T00:46:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:50:54.844Z article:section: Health og:title: CDC Recommends Anti-HIV Drug for High-Risk Groups og:description: The daily medication, sold in generic form as Truvada, could transform AIDS prevention in America. If taken regularly, the drug can reduce risk of infection in high-risk populations by up to 92%, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says og:url: https://time.com/100266/cdc-anti-hiv-pill-recommendation/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca98587f834506a5/69868f6c810bbb83bdc91968/truvada-aids-anti-hiv-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Truvada AIDS Anti-HIV og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: CDC Recommends Anti-HIV Drug for High-Risk Groups twitter:description: The daily medication, sold in generic form as Truvada, could transform AIDS prevention in America. If taken regularly, the drug can reduce risk of infection in high-risk populations by up to 92%, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca98587f834506a5/69868f6c810bbb83bdc91968/truvada-aids-anti-hiv-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # CDC Recommends Anti-HIV Pill for High-Risk Groups  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks May 15, 2014 12:46 AM UTC  Bottles of antiretroviral drug Truvada are shown at Jack's Pharmacy in San Anselmo, Calif. on Nov. 23, 2010. Bottles of antiretroviral drug Truvada are shown at Jack's Pharmacy in San Anselmo, Calif. on Nov. 23, 2010.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks May 15, 2014 12:46 AM UTC The U.S. government has [recommended](http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/prevention/research/prep/index.html) that hundreds of thousands of people at risk for AIDS take a daily drug that is effective in preventing the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an [official recommendation](http://www.cdc.gov/Features/stop-hiv-prep/?s%5Fcid=cdc%5Fhomepage%5Fwhatsnew%5F001) Wednesday that people at high risk of contracting AIDS take a combination of two medicines called Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which is known to help prevent infection of HIV, the virus that causes the deadly, incurable disease. If taken regularly, the drug can reduce risk of infection in high-risk populations by up to 92%, the CDC says. PreP comes in a generic version called [Truvada](http://www.truvada.com) and is used widely in AIDS treatment programs in poor countries. The CDC’s recommendation could, if followed widely, increase the number of people taking the drug in the U.S. from fewer than 10,000 to half a million, the [New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/15/health/us-recommends-daily-pill-to-fight-aids-infections.html) reported. The CDC recommends the drug, in combination with condom use, to gay men who have sex without using condoms, heterosexuals who sleep with intravenous drug users or bisexuals, and anyone who has sex with someone they know to be HIV-positive, as well as anyone who shares needles or injects drugs. HIV rates have held stubbornly flat for the past decade, and a sharp decline in condom usage has raised concerns among health officials. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/100266/cdc-anti-hiv-pill-recommendation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/100266/cdc-anti-hiv-pill-recommendation/"},"headline":"CDC Recommends Anti-HIV Pill for High-Risk Groups","datePublished":"2014-05-15T00:46:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:50:54.844Z","description":"The daily medication, sold in generic form as Truvada, could transform AIDS prevention in America. 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