Pill To Prevent HIV Being Developed

If researchers are to be believed, then a daily pill to avert HIVdefine is in the offing. Research is being conducted in a number of countries to test whether a daily pill or a combination of drugs, can prevent HIV.

Although recent experiments conducted on finding an HIVdefine vaccine have not been successful but the effectiveness of this pill might come early next year and hopefully it will be positive. The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition said in a report issued on Sunday at the start of the 17th International AIDS Conference that by mid-2009, more people will be enrolled in trials for HIV vaccines and microbicides.

Testing the prophylactic use of antiretroviral drugs called PrEP is currently the most positive of all the researches. “We should look ahead to consider all of the possible outcomes of these trials and make real plans for making PrEP available to those who can benefit from it, as quickly and safely as possible if it is proven effective”, said Pedro Goicochea, an investigator in a PrEP study under way in Peru and Ecuador.

Studies conducted on a small population of nonhuman primates suggest that PrEP can reduce the risk of infection of a simian form of HIV. But the safety of drugs is still to be confirmed among non infected people as well as among those who are infected.

Up to 15,000 people are expected to take part in trials by mid 2009. The trials will take place at Botswana, Brazil, Ecuador, Kenya, Malawi, Peru, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda and the United States.

The advocacy coalition and other researchers say that the governments, health officials, donors, researchers and advocates for AIDS research need to take care that the public gets maximum benefit out of the pill-a-day strategy.