A major trial of a new gel that scientists hoped would reduce
the risk of HIV infection in women has produced disappointing results, showing that
it did not significantly reduce infection rates.
The trial saw 9,385 women in four African countries given either
the vaginal microbicide or a placebo gel. Previously a smaller trial had suggested
that the gel could reduce the risk of catching the disease by up to 30%.
However the Microbicides Development Agency, a not-for-profit
partnership of 16 African and European research agencies, failed to show the gel was
any kind of effective protection. As the trial was so large, the results can be considered
conclusive.
The results will be a huge disappointment for HIV workers in Africa,
where infections rates amongst women are extremely high. In sub-Saharan Africa, women
are the most badly affected by the AIDS epidemic, with 60% of those infected believed
to be female.
Women in Africa are at particularly risk of infection as they
are frequently forced to take part in unsafe sex, as well as being biologically more
vulnerable to infection than men. It had been hoped that a gel the women could apply
themselves could offer them much needed protection, even if they could not convince
their partners to use a condom.
Though the gel did not work, the women who took part in the study
were given free condoms and access to counselling about safe sex.
The lead researcher on the study, Dr. Sheen McCormack, described
the results as ‘disheartening’ but said
that the trial itself showed the importance of large trials that offered definitive
results about the efficacy of a product.
As experts faced with the huge AIDS infection rates in Africa
and Asia admit that condoms alone have not managed to halt the spread of the virus,
scientists will continue to search for a vaccine and other ways of preventing its
transmission.
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