Emergency PEP

Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is an antiretroviral treatment that can be offered to anyone who has had a potentially high-risk sexual encounter for HIV and consults within the first 72 hours post-exposure (ideally within the first 12 hours).

A sexual encounter may be considered high-risk for HIV in all of these cases:

• anal sex without a condom between two men
• unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse with a transgender woman
• unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse with a sex worker
• vaginal or anal intercourse with a drug user who injects or snorts drugs
• vaginal or anal intercourse between a man and a woman from an HIV-endemic region

For the encounter to be considered high-risk, it must meet one of these conditions:

1. The HIV status of the person is unknown and
   • the person is not available for HIV testing
   • the person refuses to undergo testing/collaborate or give consent to access their results
   • the person is known to be HIV-negative but presents symptoms of acute HIV infection

or

2. The person is known to be HIV-positive and
   • is not on effective antiretroviral therapy
   • has been on effective antiretroviral therapy for less than 6 months
   • takes antiretroviral therapy in an erratic manner
   • is presumed to have an undetectable viral load but refuses to undergo viral load testing or give consent to access their latest viral load result
   • uses illicit substances and remains at risk of erratic adherence to their antiretrovirals

The presence of the contact person is essential to complete an assessment allowing the provision of PEP.

We offer management and follow-up of non-professional post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV. Post-PEP treatment follow-up is provided for a period of one year, in complete confidentiality.