Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday June 22, 1999
In a statement, the Joint U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS said it had sponsored a trial of a gel in Benin, Ivory Coast, South Africa and Thailand since 1996, but "very early data" had indicated that its use did not result in significant protection.
Independent experts, who met Monday to review the UNAIDS clinical trial, recommended continuing it, UNAIDS said. Some 2,000 women at high-risk of HIV infection have taken part.
In all, 23 microbicide products -- a gel, cream, suppository or film that kills or neutralizes viruses or bacteria -- are in clinical testing for AIDS protection, including two about to enter final-phase testing, according to the Geneva-based agency.
Women now account for 43 percent of the 32.2 million adults living with HIV/AIDS, a jump from 25 percent in 1992, it said. Worldwide, AIDS is the fourth biggest killer.
"There is an urgent need for more methods to prevent HIV infection, especially those that put women in control," said Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS.
"The search for an effective and safe vaginal microbicide has been progressing too slowly -- we need to see more researchers from the public and private sectors acting with appropriate urgency to develop a microbicide," the Belgian said.
UNAIDS said that in the meantime, it was important to increase women's access to female condoms.
Since 1997, it has worked with the sole manufacturer of the female condom, the Chicago-based Female Health Company, which has provided more than six million female condoms at reduced prices in Africa and Asia, the statement said. Under a second phase, UNAIDS will buy 400,000 more female condoms to distribute in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and south-east Asia.
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