Vaginal Gel Cuts Risk of HIV Infection, Study Shows

When used consistently before and after sex, antiretroviral halved chances of transmission

July 19, 2010 RSS Feed Print

In their quest to get the gel on the market and widely used, the researchers will be enlisting the help of marketers.

"This is simply a cylindrical white plastic tube. You can't get anything more unattractive," said Salim S. Abdool Karim. "Even Coke would have gone bankrupt if they had adopted this approach to their marketing. We only made this gel for the study. I think the future is going to involve making this gel sexy, making this gel something that is part-and-parcel of the sex act, that enhances sex. Packaging is part-and-parcel of addressing the adherence issue."

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on HIV/AIDS.