In what has been billed a significant stride towards protection against lethal AIDS, the researchers in Africa have suggested that a gel having Gilead Sciences Inc.’s GILDO.O AIDS drug tenofovir is capable of reducing transmission of HIV virus in women by at least 39 per cent. If the drug receives the official nod, it could be a highly effective method of preventing HIV among women, including young girls, who account majority of new infections in the continent. In addition, it could be highly beneficial in places like Africa where condom is still not used extensively.
“Now we have a product that can potentially alter this and save millions of lives by preventing HIV infection and preventing death,” says infectious diseases epidemiologist Quarraisha Abdool Karim of Columbia University, who co-authored the study being published online July 19 by Science. The study covered as many as 889 women for over one and a half years.
For decades, researchers have been attempting to formulate a microbicide -- a gel, cream, ring or tablet that could be inserted into the vagina or rectum before intercourse in a bid to prevent transmission of virus that causes AIDS. The previous attempts had failed to deliver positive results. "Boy, have we been doing the happy dance," Karim told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Many other researchers, medical experts and doctors have described the study as a remarkable landmark. “It’s refreshing and good news,” says virologist Charlene Dezzutti of the University of Pittsburgh. “A 54 percent protection rate in people who have used the gel consistently is excellent. I don’t think any HIV prevention measures will ever be 100 percent effective. You’ll always have people who don’t use gels regularly, and some people who don’t absorb the gel as well as others.”
