http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2009/02/10/health-buzz-hiv-prevention-studies-show-promise-and-other-health-news.html

Antiretroviral drugs were highly effective in preventing HIV infection in two experiments in monkeys, and a third study in humans suggests that a vaginal gel might offer some protection for women, the Washington Post reports. The drugs are widely used to treat people already infected with HIV, to slow the progression of AIDS. The first monkey study tested the antiretroviral drugs tenofovir and emtricitabine; the second used vaginal gels containing both of those drugs or tenofovir alone. The human study involved 3,100 women in Africa and the United States; it tested a vaginal microbicide gel that prevents HIV from invading cells.

Before now, several other topical products have been tried to prevent HIV infection, but none worked, and two of them actually upped the risk. Many scientists now think that a substance that will block the HIV virus is the best shot at fighting HIV/AIDS, short of a vaccine. In the new study, which was presented at a conference in Montreal, women using the gel had lower HIV infection rates over a two-year period, but the reduction was not considered to be statistically significant, so more research will need to be done to see if this method actually reduces risk. The women involved in the study also reported using condoms for about three quarters of their sexual activity.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended HIV testing for most adult women last year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated last year that about 56,300 new HIV infections occurred in the United States in 2006—a figure 40 percent higher than the former estimate of 40,000 infections each year. The revised estimate is the result of a new and improved calculation method. Black women are heavily affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Learn about one woman's battle with HIV.