AN ANTI-HIV drug has been given to 559 people in Wales since it was first made available on the Welsh NHS a year ago.

In July last year the Welsh Government made Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, or PrEP, available on the NHS as part of a three-year study.

The drug is used by those at higher-than-average risk of contracting HIV, such as men who have sex with other men, users of drugs taken via injection and couples in which one has the virus and the other does not. It has been shown to reduce the risk of contracting HIV by 92 per cent.

Of the 559 people treated with PrEP, which is available through sexual health clinics, over the last year, none have contracted HIV.

Figures have also shown the number of new cases of HIV in Wales in the final three months of 2017 was 24 per cent lower than the same period a year previously.

Public Health Wales and an independent expert group are carrying out a three-year study into the effectiveness of the drug, with a view to determining whether it should be made available permanently.

Health Secretary Vaughan Gething welcomed the figures.

“I am pleased that sexual health services in Wales have embraced the opportunity that PrEP provides and the early results from the study are encouraging," he said.

"No new cases of HIV have been reported in those who have started taking the medication.

“Wales has seen a sustained decrease in new HIV cases.

"There is no doubt that PrEP reduces rates of HIV infection when taken correctly and supported by wider, preventative sexual health services.

"It can help to reduce overall HIV transmission and infection rates. I look forward to seeing further results as they emerge.

“Making PrEP available in Wales is only one aspect of our wider approach to HIV and STI (sexually transmitted infections) prevention in Wales.

"To help implement the recommendations in Public Health Wales’ recent sexual health review, I have approved funding for a number of interventions to improve sexual health in Wales including a pilot for online STI testing and a project to provide self-sampling HIV tests to those attending for PrEP clinics.

"This work will provide valuable insight into the acceptability and logistics of on-line and self- testing and will help inform future developments in sexual health service provision."

PrEP is also available on the NHS in Scotland, but not in England.

A report by Public Health Wales on the first year of the study is available at wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/888/document/34761