Are hepatitis B medications same as PREP for HIV prevention?

Living With Hep B
1

Greetings everyone and Happy New,

Hope everyone is doing well and having a great start to a new year.

Please I would like to ask/know is hepatitis B medication are the same as PREP for the prevention and treatment of HIV ?

And are hepatitis b medication active against Hiv ?

Thank you so much and do have a great day

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Hi @John2

Good question. No, they are not the same, but they do have many similarities. The current first-line treatments for hepatitis B were in fact discovered from HIV research. In particular, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF) are included in many HIV treatment regimens.

For hep B, it is generally enough to take one of these medications on its own, but for HIV, we need a combination of different medications, because HIV is more prone to drug resistance. To treat HIV infection, 2, 3, or even 4 drugs are needed. There are also some medications approved for HIV that do not work to suppress hepatitis B.

In terms of HIV PrEP, there are 2 medications approved that can also be used to treat hepatitis B. Those are TDF + emtricitabine, sold under the brand name Truvada, and TAF + emtricitabine, sold under the brand name Descovy. Basically they are the same as Viread and Vemlidy respectively, just with the addition of emtricitabine (which is another antiviral drug), combined into one tablet. Some hep B patients find that these combo tablets are more readily available/affordable than Viread/Vemlidy alone. I think I read somewhere that the WHO does recommend Truvada or Descovy for hep B patients, if access to Viread/Vemlidy monotherapy is an issue.

To summarize: HIV needs multiple drugs to fully suppress it. The drugs that are used to treat hep B are part of many HIV treatment regimens. It may be acceptable to use combination tablets containing tenofovir approved for HIV to treat hepatitis B, but not the other way around. Tenofovir on its own is not enough to treat HIV.

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Greetings Dearest @et5656

Wow thank you so much for your swift and detailed response.

It means a lot to me.

So quick question can an hepatitis B patient who is on a daily dose of their medication take PEP for 28 days along with their medications?

is this healthy and will not cause any complications later ?

Thank you for your response im advance.

Best Regards,

John

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Hi @John2

I don’t know much about PEP, but please be advised that PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) is NOT the same thing as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). If you think you have been exposed to HIV, please seek medical attention immediately, ideally within 24 hours of the exposure. If the doctor decides that you’re a good candidate for PEP, tell them about any medications you’re currently taking, and they will help explain any drug interactions.

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Hi @John2,
@et5656 is correct here. Please engage your doctor about this and share all the medications you take with them (dosage, how often, and why you take them, etc.), and they can guide you on this subject.
Best, Bansah1

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From a lived and clinical experience in Nigeria (based on your username). The doctor would ask you discontinue your CHB medication (typically TDF or TAF), and then use ONLY the PEP (typically TLD) for a period of 28 days. After you complete this regimen, you switch back and continue your daily CHB medications, and asked to get tested for HIV in 3 months. Nonetheless, as other admins have rightly said, your doctor would know your own peculiarity when you (and should) visit them.

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Greetings Dearest @Bansah1 @et5656 @Sabson

Thank you so much for your swift reply and clarification.

It was just a random conversation I was having with a friend whether it is vital for hepatitis Zb patients to take Pep or Prep for HIV to protect themselves or not.

I have spoken to my doctor and apologies for late reply.

Thank you once again and do have a lovely weekend

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