A vaginal microbicide gel, which keeps HIV from replicating, is safe for HIV-negative women to use every day, a six-month study has shown as quoted by media reports Thursday.

The study, involving 200 sexually active HIV-negative women, looked at whether women were able to adhere to a regimen of either daily or sex-dependent use of the gel.

Both regimens proved equally safe, and women's adherence to each regimen was similar. Notably, none of the women who used the new gel got HIV during the study period.

The results are an advance in efforts to use microbicides to prevent HIV infection in women, the researchers said.

"Finding that daily use is both safe and feasible is important, because we believe a daily approach may provide more sustainable protection against the virus in women who can't always predict when they will have sex," study leader Sharon L. Hillier, said in a prepared statement.

The active ingredient in tenofovir gel is a class of anti-retroviral drugs called nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors, which act against HIV by blocking the virus' ability to replicate and grow inside the body.

Microbicides designed to prevent HIV infection are applied on the inside of the vagina or rectum.

Worldwide, almost half of people with HIV/AIDS are women, and 70 percent to 90 percent of all HIV infections in women are due to heterosexual intercourse. In many areas of the world, even married women and those with steady partners are at risk for HIV infection.

(Agencies via Xinhua News Agency February 28, 2008)