Just in time for World AIDS Day, researchers in San Francisco announced they are investigating whether a common herpes drug could combat the spread of HIV by making patients less susceptible to the AIDS virus. The theory is that, by taking the herpes drug Acyclovir all the time, instead of just during outbreaks or not at all, patients would keep their herpes under better control and, at the same time, make their bodies less vulnerable to HIV infection. Unlike many other AIDS prevention treatments that are in the research pipeline, Acyclovir could quickly make its way to people at risk of HIV infection because the drug is already on the market, said Dr. Susan Buchbinder. She is director of HIV research for the San Francisco Department of Public Health, which is taking part in the year-long study. “If this were found to be a safe and effective prevention strategy, a number of groups would work to make this available globally,” she said.Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday issued some good and bad news to mark the AIDS fight on World AIDS Day. Rates of HIV/AIDS diagnoses remained fairly stable from 2000 to 2003 in 32 states where statistics are available, according to a report in the CDC’s Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report, which was released Dec. 1. However, diagnoses did go up by 5 percent among men, apparently because of increases in cases affecting gay and bisexual males.
