Anti-HIV microbicide experts to meet

Local and international experts will gather at a four-day forum in Cape Town, South Africa, to discuss the development of a microbicide to protect women against the HI virus.

Women are more susceptible to infection than men as a result of their biological make-up, and are rarely allowed the space to negotiate safer sex with their partners.

Helen Rees, of the Reproductive Health and HIV Research Unit at Wits University, was quoted by The Cape Time newspaper as saying, "Particularly in the African region, the feminisation of AIDS presents a huge problem. We're looking at how we can best pair scientists with each other and communities to get this technology available quickly."

Microbicides can take the form of a gel, cream, sponge or ring that releases an active ingredient capable of destroying the HI virus.