In a potential breakthrough that opens a new way to protect against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, researchers found that a gel applied by women before and after sex cut the chance of acquiring the AIDS virus by 39% and the genital herpes virus by 51%.
It is the first time an HIV-prevention method controlled by women, who bear the brunt of the epidemic in Africa, has been shown to work. About a third of women in the study said their partners didn't know they were using the clear, odorless gel.
The findings come at a time when donor nations have been balking at continued large increases for funding AIDS treatment, intensifying pressure on finding new ways to prevent people from contracting the virus in the first place.
