This study will test whether taking a pill of tenofovir (an antiretroviral medicine) is safe for sexually-active young adults in Botswana without HIV infection and whether it will reduce their risk of getting an HIV infection.
Twelve hundred healthy, sexually active women and men, 18-29 years old, without HIV infection will be enrolled in Francistown and Gaborone, Botswana. They will be provided with free male and female condoms, repeated individualized risk-reduction counseling, diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, and women will be provided with a choice of effective family planning methods. In addition, volunteers will be randomized to receive either Tenofovir or a placebo pill to take once a day. Volunteers will be seen monthly for at least 12 months to monitor for side effects and toxicities and to test their HIV status. Persons who become HIV infected during the trial will receive ongoing supportive counseling, CD4 and viral load monitoring, education about HIV infection/disease, and access to HIV care including free antiretrovirals when clinically indicated. Volunteer safety will be monitored by a local ethics committee, Centers for Disease Control Institutional Review Board (CDC IRB) and an independent data safety and monitoring board.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
1,200
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
BOTUSA HIV Prevention Research Unit
Francistown and Gaborone, Botswana
Adverse drug reactions in the tenofovir and placebo arms
HIV incidence in the tenofovir and placebo arms
Changes in levels of unprotected sex during the trial
Adherence to medication
Antiretroviral (ARV) resistance patterns in seroconverters
Viral set point in seroconverters
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