pre-exposure prophylaxis

noun

variants or less commonly preexposure prophylaxis
plural pre-exposure prophylaxes also preexposure prophylaxes
: a preventive treatment for infections or diseases (such as HIV or rabies) that involves administering one or more drugs to an uninfected person who is at a high risk of exposure to a particular pathogen
If you are in a relationship with someone who has HIV, it's important to talk to your health care provider about what you can do to prevent contracting the disease. Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, can give you the peace of mind to enjoy your relationship knowing you have taken that precaution.Pamela Crain
Travelers should consider preexposure prophylaxis … vaccination if planned activities include encounters with domestic or wild animals, if staying longer than a month in an area where dog rabies is common, or if visiting remote areas where medical care may be delayed.Kathryn Lincoln and Jerline Hsin
abbreviation PrEP
compare post-exposure prophylaxis

Examples of pre-exposure prophylaxis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web PrEP uptake, 2017-2022 The usage of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, among Black and Latino people in the U.S. has doubled over the past five years but still lags that of whites. Benjamin Ryan, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2023 But usage of PrEP, which stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis, has remained low. Dallas News, 15 Feb. 2023 The drug was developed by AstraZeneca as pre-exposure prophylaxis for COVID. Carla Delgado, Verywell Health, 8 Feb. 2023 The guidelines also restrict donations from people taking medications to prevent HIV infection such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Jan. 2023 See all Example Sentences for pre-exposure prophylaxis 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pre-exposure prophylaxis.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pre-exposure prophylaxis was in 1943

Dictionary Entries Near pre-exposure prophylaxis

pre-exposure

pre-exposure prophylaxis

preeze

Cite this Entry

“Pre-exposure prophylaxis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pre-exposure%20prophylaxis. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Medical Definition

pre-exposure prophylaxis

noun
variants also preexposure prophylaxis
plural pre-exposure prophylaxes also preexposure prophylaxes
: a preventative treatment for infections or diseases (such as HIV or rabies) that involves administering one or more drugs to an uninfected person who is at a high risk of exposure to a particular pathogen
Although preventing rabies in dogs is the most cost-effective way of preventing human rabies deaths, pre-exposure prophylaxis is valuable for people at a high disease risk, particularly in areas where controlling disease in the animal reservoir is difficult or has not been implemented and in areas where access to postexposure prophylaxis and rabies immunoglobulin is unreliable or nonexistent.Jocelyn A. Kessels et al., Bulletin of the World Health Organization
abbreviation PrEP
compare post-exposure prophylaxis
Last Updated: - Definition revised
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