Anti-retrovirals could block spread of HIV to women

Researchers may have discovered a drug that could prevent the vaginal transmission of HIV.

Scientists at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have found that anti-retroviral drugs given daily before and after exposure to HIV can prevent transmission.

Using humanised mice, the researchers revealed in a report appearing online yesterday (January 14th) in PLoS Medicine that the antiretrovirals emtricitabine (FTC) and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) blocked all infection.

Dr J Victor Garcia-Martinez, the study's senior author, said: "Our motivation is to look for interventions that can be implemented rapidly and have the potential to make a big difference.

"We don't want something in ten years. We want female-controlled prevention measures now. Our observations support the potential for antiviral drugs to function as an effective pre-exposure prophylaxis against the further spread of AIDS."

A poll conducted last year by the Terrence Higgins Trust found that nine out of ten people aged 16 to 24 rarely or never thought about the potential dangers of HIV with regards to their own sex life.

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