HIV: Widely available drug could help reduce AIDS-related deaths by 43%
A cheap and widely available antibiotic drug could almost halve the death rate among children with HIV, a new study has found.
According to research carried out by the Medical Research Council, the long-established antibiotic drug, Co-trimoxazole, could cut AIDS-related deaths by 43% by stopping infections associated with a weakened immune system. The study also found that the drug could reduce the need for children's hospital admissions by 23%.
As a result of this discovery, both the World Health Organisation and UNICEF have altered their advice on effective medicines for children with HIV.
The trial was carried out in Zambia between 2001 and 2003. The drug, which was given to 541 children between the age of one and 14, showed that children taking it had a better chance of survival than those who were given a placebo.
Co-trimoxazole has previously been used to treat adults and children with respiratory infections such as pneumonia. However, this is the first time it was tested as a preventative medicine for children with HIV.
Every day, as many as 1,300 children die from HIV and AIDS related illnesses around the world. Distributing a preventive drug could effectively diminish this figure.
Dr Diana Gibb, who led the team of scientists in the research, said: "Tackling HIV infection directly is just one approach to management. Reducing the secondary complications and infections, which can be just as fatal as HIV itself to those with weak immune systems, is also important and as this trial proves, can have dramatic results."
While the trial should pave the way for wider use of the drug, the charity, Christian Aid, has warned that the AIDS pandemic cannot be controlled through drugs alone and has called for a more diverse approach to tackling its increase.
