HIV prevention at the Mexican Social Security Institute - Application of pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis as public health policy

It is necessary to strengthen HIV prevention measures through the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Since the year 2021, the use of PrEP has been initiated nationwide in Mexican Social Security Institute (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social ‒ IMSS), being the first institutional initiative in our country. At the last cut-off, there were 2130 people in treatment with Emtricitabine/Tenofovir distributed throughout the national territory, although most of them are in Mexico City and suburban areas. PrEP is useful for the timely detection of HIV and the reduction of new cases, with a terminal efficacy of 99 per cent. With respect to PEP, since 2000 it has been applied in some cases of exposure, and since 2022 it has been used for all types of exposure. This strategy is applied through the emergency areas of second level hospitals, and, like PrEP, it is a proven tool for early diagnosis and prevention.