Due to 'exploding’ HIV epidemic, WHO recommends antiretroviral medications to all gay men

For the first time, the World Health Organization WHO is strongly recommending that men who have sex with other men consider antiretroviral medications to help prevent HIV infection. The approach, called pre-exposure prophylaxis, calls for the non-infected to take a preventive pill every day. With such treatment, WHO predicts HIV incidence among gay men would ultimately fall by as much as 25 percent — and avert close to 1 million infections over the next decade.

According to WHO's statement on Friday,  “Rates of HIV infection among men who have sex with men remain high almost everywhere and new prevention options are urgently needed.” 

Statistics shows that the likelihood a gay man will become infected is approximately 19 times greater than the general population while Female sex workers, are 14 times more likely to have HIV than other women. The most high-risk groups are transgender women and intravenous drug users, who are 50 times more likely to be infected than the general population.