Post-exposure prophylaxis - HIV
Quick facts:
- Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is a treatment that may prevent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and is available to anyone likely to have been exposed to HIV.
- PEP involves taking a combination of antiretroviral medication for 28 days.
- To be effective, initiation of PEP needs to occur as soon as possible after and within 72 hours of a high-risk exposure to HIV.
PEP is a 28-day course of tablets started within 72 hours of high-risk HIV exposure.
PEP will reduce the risk of HIV infection following an exposure to infected blood or bodily fluids.
PEP is not a guarantee that HIV infection will be prevented; it greatly decreases the chance of becoming infected. PEP will not make people immune to future HIV exposures. Practising safe sex and safer injecting practices, remain the best ways to prevent HIV infection. This includes always using condoms with water-based lubricant and the use of sterile injecting equipment. If you are exposed to HIV again in the future, you should re-present for an immediate assessment.
In the case of occupational exposure in a workplace, for example a needlestick injury in a clinic, PEP has been used for a number of years and has been effective in most cases. Studies have also shown the use of PEP to be effective in cases of non-occupational exposures (e.g., sex or sharing injecting equipment) in people who completed the full course of PEP.
Transmission
- Unsafe sex – anal and vaginal
- Sharing needles and injecting equipment contaminated with blood.
HIV may also be transmitted through donated blood products. However, all blood, organs, tissues and semen donated in Australia are screened for HIV. The risk of getting HIV from these products in Australia is very low. Donating blood or body parts does not put you at risk of HIV infection.
Treatment
To determine whether PEP is prescribed, a case-by-case assessment of HIV transmission risk will be undertaken. PEP must be prescribed by a doctor and is available from most public hospitals in Queensland and specialist HIV support services or sexual health clinics. People wishing to access PEP should telephone the service for opening hours and advise the trained clinical staff members that PEP may be required. People presenting to hospital emergency departments should receive a 3-day starter pack and be provided with a referral for a follow-up appointment with a specialist PEP provider.
The standard prescription drug co-payment will be charged by the pharmacy dispensing the drugs.
PEP medications may cause side effects such as abdominal pain, diarrhoea or headaches throughout the four-week course of medication. Newer medications are less likely to cause these side-effects. Following the strict PEP medication routine is essential to give the treatments a chance to work effectively.
If your HIV risk behaviour seems minimal or there is doubt about the need for PEP, discuss this with a doctor, either in a hospital emergency department, infectious diseases clinic, sexual health clinic or GP.
A follow-up appointment with the prescribing doctor is necessary after finishing the course of PEP so HIV testing can be undertaken.
Prevention
- People should practice risk-reduction practices until their negative status is confirmed at a follow-up appointment.
- Risk reduction practices include:
- safe sexual practices
- safe injecting practices
- preventing the exposure of others to their body fluid
- women should be counselled about pregnancy and mother-to-child transmission, contraception and offered emergency contraception if indicated.
Other resources
- For information on PEP in Arabic, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Thai, or Vietnamese, visit the StaySTIfree website. Other translated resources about STIs are available from the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland.
- For Australia wide information visit the Get PEP website.
Related content
- HIV and AIDS fact sheet
- Queensland Government safe sex fact sheet.
- Sexual health services in Queensland
- Hospital and Health Service facilities (Departments of Emergency Medicine)
Help and assistance
This factsheet provides general information and is not intended to replace the need to see a health professional or have a sexual health check. For more information on PEP for HIV please talk to a healthcare provider. A doctor, nurse or health worker can assist with:
- providing appropriate tests, treatment and information about how to prevent STIs
- helping people to ensure that their sexual partners get tested and treated.