Vaginal creams set to help in anti-HIV/AIDS battle

A national prevention initiative could bring hope to millions of South African women at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.

Dr Gita Ramjee, director of the Medical Research Council's HIV/AIDS prevention research unit, said on Wednesday: "For the first time in the 20-year history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, equal numbers of men and women are infected with HIV/AIDS.

"However, in sub-Saharan Africa, twice as many young women as men are infected."

Ramjee, whose unit is co-ordinating the prevention initiative in South Africa, said that without intervention, the dramatic shift in infections to women would ultimately lead to the further spread of HIV/AIDS - not only through sexual contact but also through childbirth and breastfeeding.

The initiative, which could stem further spread of the disease, was launched in Durban last night and has the full backing of the government.

It will for the first time see the accelerated testing of safe and effective microbicides - vaginal barrier gels which have the potential to reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS by killing off sperm cells and the viruses and bacteria that lead to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The new initiative was announced at a two-day microbicide conference at Durban's International Conference Centre that was attended by 140 national and international delegates.

Already 700 women are involved in safety and acceptability studies at two sites in KwaZulu Natal and one in Johannesburg.

The trials will look at effective and acceptable formulations, with a view to registering the substances for general use.

Two of the microbicides that could find their way onto the South African market are Carraguard, derived from an extract of seaweed, and BufferGel, which uses a similar substance.