In the first of Daily Xtra’s four-part video series about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), we find out what PrEP is and how it works. Could this be the game changer we have been waiting for?

In the first of a four-part video series, Daily Xtra looks at pre-exposure prophylaxis and how it works. Could this be a major HIV-prevention breakthrough, or is it another false start in the effort to stop the ongoing spread of the virus?

Daily Xtra will be rolling out parts two, three and four in the coming days. We speak to stakeholders about the many questions and controversies around PrEP: Will it lead to more condomless sex and an increase in the spread of sexually transmitted infections? Just how effective is PrEP? And why are so few gay men taking a drug that some say could stop HIV/AIDS in its tracks?

In the above video, Nicolas Kazamia speaks with Robert Grant, a senior investigator at the Gladstone Institutes; Alan McCord, from Project Inform; Michael Lucas, a pornstar and producer who is taking PrEP; and HIV/AIDS prevention workers Tim Ryan and Steve Gibson, from Magnet, a sexual health clinic in San Francisco.

Keep checking in with Daily Xtra for our comprehensive online coverage. And follow the conversation on our Facebook page and on Twitter.

Next in the series

Part 2: A condom-free future?

Part 3: The controversy behind PrEP

Part 4: If gay men can avoid HIV with a pill, why aren’t they taking it?