Women in developing countries, including many in Africa, cannot control their susceptibility to the transmission of HIV as much as their Western counterparts. Due to rampant gender inequality in their culture, many of these women may not be able to prevent a male from having unprotected sex with her, or from cheating on her, or from raping her.
Hoping to provide a discrete way for women to protect themselves from infection, the nonprofit International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM), has begun a trial to determine the safety and usability of a vaginal ring that releases the antiretroviral drug (ARV) dapivirine. Dapivirine has been used to prevent HIV transmission between mother and child with impressive results.
IPM announced the trial Tuesday at the Women Deliver conference in Washington, D.C. The conference focusing on maternal health was the largest one in more than ten years.
“Vaginal rings, commonly used in Europe and the US for hormone delivery, could be well-suited to deliver HIV prevention drugs for women in developing countries,” said Dr. Zeda Rosenberg, IPM’s Chief Executive Officer in a press release for Tuesday’s event. “This study will provide key information on the safety and acceptability of this technology for HIV prevention. It is an important step forward in our efforts to give women options they can use to safeguard their health.” Being that the device is small and discrete, and only needs to be changed once monthly, the ring has proven beneficial in developing countries.
The vaginal ring with dapivirine has already been tested in Europe and is now undergoing trials in parts of eastern and southern Africa. If the trial shows that the treatment continues to be safe and is accepted by the women, then a third phase of testing will unveil in Africa from 2011 to 2015.
“The roll-out of treatment in the past few years has saved millions of lives, but the AIDS epidemic continues to spread, with women particularly vulnerable,” said Michel Sidibé, the Executive Director of UNAIDS in the press release. “Preventing HIV transmission is essential if we are to protect the health and safety of future generations. If successful, innovations like microbicides could have an extraordinary impact.”
Photo by cyclopsr via Flickr.