What impact would microbicides have?

A study in 2002 by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimated that 2.5 million HIV infections would be avoided by the use of a 60 per cent effective microbicide by 20 per cent of the eligible population. This would save a total of US$2.7 billion for the health services in the 73 countries examined. New figures coming out soon indicate that the 2002 figures may be an underestimate of the potential impact of microbicides.

It is unlikely that a microbicide will ever be as effective as a correctly used condom, simply because it is safer to keep the virus out of the body than it is to try and kill or disable it once present. However, studies have found that microbicides could fill an important gap in providing protection against HIV in relationships where condom use is low or non-existant. They recommend that microbicides be presented as a method to complement and enhance other prevention activities when possible. As a result, it is likely that microbicide labels will need to state that using condoms along with a microbicide is the best possible protection.