HIV Injections Outperform Daily Pills for Teens in African Trial: Study

Injectable Treatment Shows Superior Efficacy Eight-weekly HIV injections kept the virus suppressed more effectively than daily tablets among adolescents in an African clinical trial, with researchers calling for wider access to the treatment in low- and middle-income settings. The study published by Eureka Alert!, young people living with HIV managed their treatment better with long-acting injections given every eight weeks than with daily antiretroviral tablets, according to a trial led by researchers at University College London (UCL). The findings, published in The Lancet, showed that only two adolescents, or 1 per cent, receiving the injectable treatment experienced confirmed viral rebound after 96 weeks, compared with 15, or 6 per cent, among those taking daily tablets. The LATA (Long-Acting Treatment in Adolescents) trial involved 476 adolescents aged 12 to 19 across five clinics in Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe.