HIV Prevention Gel Trial Stopped for High Risk

Women using an anti-HIV gel contracted HIV more often than a control group who were not using the gel, resulting in an early end to a study on the gel's effectiveness.

Trial on Anti-HIV Gel for Women Stopped
A trial on a microbicidal vaginal gel designed to protect women againstHIV infection has been stopped. Sponsored by the US reproductive healthorganization CONRAD, the trial was stopped because the group of womenusing the active gel were being infected with HIV at a higher rate thanthe placebo group.

The cellulose sulfate microbicide gel is one of four currently in athird phase of testing by clinical trials. Trials on the other threeproducts have not been stopped.

The trial was being conducted on over 1,300 women in Benin, India,
South Africa and Uganda. Another trial in Nigeria, sponsored by FamilyHealth International, using the same product has also been stopped as aprecautionary measure, although there is no news as to whether thistrial was giving similar results.

The World Health Organization said today that "This is a disappointingand unexpected setback in the search for a safe and effectivemicrobicide that can be used by women to protect themselves against HIV
infection."

One of the urgencies for developing microbicides is that in Africa, men generally refuse to use condoms, and women don't have the power to refuse to have sex or otherwise make the men care about disease prevention.

It makes me wonder what condoms are like over there. Are they lined inside with barbs? Are they made of industrial latex instead of the thinner "Sheerlon" (Beyond Seven's trademark for its latex formula) or the heat-conducting, oil-surviving polyurethane?

What is this objection rooted in, when the price of unprotected sex is killing women and children as well as yourself? My instinctive answer is "depression."