Device to revolutionise HIV prevention

Women in developing countries could soon benefit from a new device that assists in preventing HIV/AIDS, researchers have said. Karl Malcolm, a chemist at Queen's University in Belfast, said in a statement that the 5.84 cm diametre intravaginal ring provides a continuous and controlled release of anitiretrovials. "In the work conducted so far, there is no doubt that the ring can release antiretroviral compounds at rates that have the potential to prevent HIV transmission during heterosexual intercourse," Malcolm said. The ring acts like a contraceptive diaphragm and could be worn for six to 12 months without being detected by either partner, allowing women to "secretly" protect themselves from HIV infection. Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the unpublished work is currently being presented at the Controlled Release Symposium, an international science conference in Glasgow, Scotland.