Experts urge work on anti-HIV gels

Experts called Thursday for urgent work on HIV-killing gels that could help protect women who can't rely on condoms, while democracy icon Nelson Mandela told the world not to ignore tuberculosis in its battle against AIDS.

With research over the past two years showing that an AIDS vaccine is still a long way off, HIV-killing gels and creams, female condoms and diaphragms that could bolster prevention in the interim have become more of a priority.

"Developing an HIV vaccine is probably one of the most difficult challenges that biomedical science is confronting," vaccine researcher Jose Esparza told a plenary session at the International AIDS Conference running through Friday.

It's the biggest gathering ever of AIDS scientists, activists, policy-makers and HIV-infected people, also drawing international dignitaries like Mandela, the former South African president.

"The world has made defeating AIDS a top priority. This is a blessing, but TB remains ignored," said Mandela, who turns 86 on Sunday.

Tuberculosis is one of the most common diseases that attacks AIDS patients after their immune system has been destroyed, with the lung disease causing from 15 percent to 40 percent of the 3 million AIDS deaths worldwide last year.

Mandela, who survived tuberculosis in prison during South Africa's apartheid era, noted that the world has known the cure for TB for more than 50 years but that too many people are not being diagnosed and treated.

Curing TB can cost as little as $10 per patient, said Dr. Jack Chow of World Health Organization.

"We can't fight AIDS unless we do much more to fight TB as well," Mandela said to loud applause by scores of activists, admirers and staff at a packed news conference.

There have been daily protests at the conference over HIV policies of U.S. President George W. Bush, such as his emphasis on abstinence - rather than condoms - in the fight against HIV. Much of Bush's foreign aid on AIDS is tied to abstinence programs.

Critics say a vow of abstinence is difficult to maintain and, when broken, can lead to unprotected sex, raising the risk of HIV infection that could effectively be blocked by a condom.

"Bush is a jerk. Condoms work," about 20 youth protesters shouted Thursday while briefly taking over a U.S. government booth at the conference, prompting staff to leave.

"The U.S. government has to change its position. Abstinence doesn't work," said Kaytee Riek of the Washington-based Students Global AIDS Campaign, while distributing literature promoting condoms.
Focus on women's rising infection rate

Much of Thursday's focus was on women, who are now nearly half of the world's 38 million people living with HIV, and their infection rates in many regions are climbing much faster than men's.