127 Zimbabwean Women Infected With HIV During Drug Trial

It's not being spread around the media much but the latest news from a Tenofovir trial in Zimbabwe is that 'about' 127 people taking the drug became infected with HIV. The article is not clear but it sounds like this is approximately 20% of those taking part, which is an alarming rate even in a high prevalence country like Zimbabwe.

The trial was for the vaginal gel and cream and oral versions of Tenofovir and the oral use of the drug has now been dropped. A spokesperson for the trial said those who became infected in the Vaginal and Oral Interventions to Control the Epidemic (VOICE) trial "were part of a group that was always at risk of infection", which probably means they were thought to be at risk of sexual transmission. But, as is usual with these trials, it appears to be assumed that all infection is sexual.

The women are said to be sexually active married or single women, which doesn't suggest very high risk. The fact that they live in a high prevalence area simply begs the question of why HIV transmission should be so high there.

It is not clear if the women's partners will be tested and if any attempt will be made to establish exactly how they were infected, for example, if they faced any non-sexual risks. After all, there may be a big difference between the effectiveness of these drugs in preventing sexual and non-sexual transmission. Trial participants may even have faced some risks through the activities of the trial itself. In addition to the 630 Zimbabweans taking part, there were another four thousand from other countries, who now have to be tested to find out how many of them were infected.