(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Carraguard microbicidal gel does not protect women
from HIV infection, new information reveals.
About 33.2 million people around the world are living with HIV. Women and girls
are most often the victims, accounting for 61 percent of infections. In addition
in people ages 15 to 24 years, women account for 90 percent of new cases, making
female initiated HIV prevention options like microbicides a critical need.
A trial in South Africa involving 6,202 sexually active women without HIV tested
Carraguard gel. Half of the group received the drug and were instructed to use
one applicator of gel plus a condom for vaginal intercourse. The women were
followed for two years. One-hundred-thirty-four women were infected in the
Carraguard group while 151 women who didn't receive the drug were infected.
"This study did not show Carraguard's efficacy in prevention of male-to-female
transmission of HIV, although no safety concerns were reported," study authors
wrote. "Although the results from this and other completed microbicides efficacy
trials have been disappointing, the search for female-controlled HIV-prevention
methods must continue."
SOURCE: Lancet, 2008;372:1977–87
