VOA标准英语2011--Americans Turn to AIDS Drugs to Prevent

Americans Turn to AIDS Drugs to Prevent HIV Infection

New research in Africa confirms that a once-a-day pill, used to treat patients infected with the virus which causes AIDS, also works to prevent HIV infection in healthy people.
For 20-year-old New Yorker James Krellenstein, the battle against HIV and AIDS is not a theoretical one.
Not yet old enough to legally buy alcohol in the U.S., Krellenstein had a scare recently, which sent him looking for an emergency treatment to keep from contracting HIV. "I didn't use a condom, I was drunk, it was not necessarily the wisest decision in my life. He could have been HIV positive, he could have been HIV negative, I don't know and I don't want to spend the rest of my life dealing¹ with HIV," he said.
James went on a month-long drug regimen that uses HIV medicines to try to keep the virus from attacking the body's white blood cells and spreading.
Noted² AIDS researcher Dr. Anthony Fauci says it's essential that this emergency therapy be applied³ quickly to stop HIV infection. "Because if it infects one cell and that cell dies but doesn't infect another cell then the infection is over," he said.
Doctors are already using AIDS drugs to prevent infections the way James was treated - as an emergency measure.
But three new studies now seem to confirm that Truvada, a combination pill of two anti-retroviral drugs, may also be effective as a longer-term preventive measure, for people who might be exposed to HIV.
The new studies focused on what's called Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, or PrEP, in heterosexual couples in Africa. They confirm an earlier study showing similar results among gay men.
Dr. Raymond Martins heads an HIV/AIDS clinic in Washington. He says that while using the drugs to treat already HIV-positive patients helps keep them from transmitting it to others, PrEP is also a valuable tool to protect uninfected patients from the virus. "I'm very excited about this// We need a lot of options to prevent new HIV infections and pre-exposure prophylaxis looks like it's going to one of those options," he said.
Researchers say using PrEP provides a 62 to 73 percent chance of preventing infection.
But while the drugs are effective, they are also expensive.
It's at pharmacies⁴ like Whitman Walker Health that government subsidies⁵ substantially bring down the cost of these life saving medications. Though Gilead, the manufacturer, has recently made an announcement that will impact the developing world by making the medication available for as low as 21 cents per day.
Gilead has agreed to enter the UN Medicines Patent Pool, allowing their anti-retroviral drugs to be produced as a generic⁶ form for use in the developing world for both PrEP and HIV treatments.
Here in the United States, Gilead says once the US Food and Drug Administration approves this use, the company may make the PrEP drugs available through a program that helps those who can't afford prescriptions⁷.
The medicines will still be produced as branded drugs in the United States, costing around $1,500 per month.
James Krellenstein's story is not unique. He's part of the only demographic in America with increasing HIV infections.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that gay and bisexual men, just 4 percent of the U.S. male population, are 44 times more likely than heterosexual men to become HIV positive.
"Most of my friends, straight or gay, don't use a condom every time. I try to use a condom every time, I do, as a person who is relatively⁸ knowledgeable⁹ about this issue, it's scary not to," Krellenstein said.
Despite the benefits of the PrEP drugs, some public health experts worry they may lead to complacency about condom use.
Brant Miller¹⁰, like other AIDS activists¹¹, says he plans to continue aggressively promoting condoms. "It is a good way to prevent the spread of HIV that we've been using and has always worked, and will continue to work regardless of whether or not people have access to PrEP," he said.
James Krellenstein says he is grateful he found a doctor to prescribe him anti-retrovirals, and he credits their use with his remaining HIV negative. He now runs a website called: PEPNow.org which links those seeking treatment with doctors who can help them.
"I think the best way people can protect themselves is if they feel like they're at risk for HIV infection, or after a high-risk sexual encounter, go to your health care practitioner¹² as soon as possible, just so you can know the various options to prevent HIV," said Dr. Martins.
Options that have doctors and patients both hoping this little blue pill, taken daily, will become a game changer in the global struggle to end the AIDS epidemic¹³.

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

4 pharmacies   

药店

参考例句：

• Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
• Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店，和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网

5 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

7 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

9 knowledgeable   

adj.知识渊博的；有见识的

参考例句：

• He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
• He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。

10 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

11 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 practitioner   

n.实践者，从事者；(医生或律师等)开业者

参考例句：

• He is an unqualified practitioner of law.他是个无资格的律师。
• She was a medical practitioner before she entered politics.从政前她是个开业医生。

13 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。