IBADAN, Nigeria, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Nigerian prostitutes are on the front line of trials of a new drug, Tenofovir, that researchers hope prevents infection by the deadly AIDS virus.
Tenofovir trials have begun in Nigeria and include Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Malawi and Thailand. American trials will take place in Atlanta and San Francisco, and first results are due in 2006, the Washington Post reported.
The 125 prostitutes in Ibadan, Nigeria, are among 5,000 people included in the study of the disease that affects 40 million people worldwide and hits Africa the hardest.
Activists have criticized the study since some participants will receive placebos and have no protection against AIDS.
"Even if it works for 20 percent of the population, it's an improvement over nothing, said Isaac F. Adewole, the University of Ibadan College of Medicine provost overseeing the drug trial.
