End of HIV/AIDS may be closer than you think – new tools include single daily pill

Known as Pre-exposure Prophylaxis, (PrEP), the pill would be taken by high-risk individuals, including homosexuals and bisexuals.

The annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections will be taking place in Boston this week, and new tools to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS will be presented that may be signifying that the end of the disease may be closer than you think. The new technologies include a single pill that can be used to prevent the transmission of HIV, and vaccines to help prevent it.

As reported in the Boston Globe, 1.5 million people around the world become infected with the virus every year, and another 1 million die of AIDS. In the U.S. alone, 1.2 million people are already infected. About 12.8 percent of the population (one out of eight people) are unaware that they are infected. Around the world there are 37 million individuals infected.

When the first AIDS cases were documented in the 1980s treating the infection consisted of taking large quantities of pills on a daily basis, some that had serious side effects. The new pill, which is taken daily and has few side effects, can make individuals less likely to contract the infection and spread it to others. Known as Pre-exposure Prophylaxis, (PrEP), the pill would be taken by high-risk individuals, including homosexuals and bisexuals.

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below