What Is The Difference Between PrEP and TAsP?

How Is PrEP & Treatment As Prevention (TAsP) Different?

What is the difference between treatment as prevention and PrEP?

These are two important concepts when it comes to HIV, but also HIV prevention.
It is important that people are aware of the differences between the two.

PrEP is pre-exposure prophylaxis: a single tablet taken every day that reduces the risk of HIV infection in a person who is HIV negative.
A person who is not living with HIV. PrEP blocks HIV from being able to take hold in the body.

It is very different to treatment as prevention, or TasP.

Treatment As Prevention: TasP is treatment for when a person is living with HIV.
Successful treatment of HIV uses medications to stop HIV replicating.

Optimal treatment reduces the replication of the HIV virus in the body down to a point where it can no longer be detected in the blood.

This is called a non-detectable viral load.

Research has shown a person with a non-detectable viral load is not able to transmit HIV. Full stop.

Treatment as prevention is allowing people to get treatment that greatly improves their own health benefits but also protecting their partners by blocking the transmission of HIV.

You may have seen a previous video that I did which was about U=U, or undetectable viral load is untransmittable. This is what TasP is about.

PrEP is a medication to prevent HIV infection.

TAsP or ‘treatment as prevention’ is a treatment for people living with HIV with the goal to block HIV from replicating. The aim is a ‘non detectable viral load’ which has health benefits as well as meaning HIV is not able to be passed to other people.