Cambodian workers say 'No' to Bill Gates-funded HIV drug study

On Monday, a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded study of the HIV drug tenofovir DF in Cambodia suffered a setback when a group of sex workers refused to participate. One hundred-fifty members of Women's Network for Unity (WNFU) said they would only take the drug if given insurance to treat possible side effects for 30 years.

The drug is currently used to treat HIV patients. The study, a joint effort by Cambodia's Health Ministry, the University of California-San Francisco and Australia's University of New South Wales, is a multi-nation test to see if tenofovir DF reduces HIV risk among non-infected sexually active adults who are regularly exposed to the virus.

Kimberly Page Shafer, a University of California professor who attended the WNFU meeting, said the drug could cause stomach gas and nausea, and that women would be treated for side effects during and after the trial. The US Health Department said that when the drug is taken to treat HIV, its side effects range from diarrhea and rashes to liver or kidney failure. Shafer told the Associated Press that it was impossible to provide insurance to participants.

Cambodia was selected for the trial due to its high rate of HIV infections, according to Khol Vohith, a researcher at the country's National Center for HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Though it has dropped to 2.6 percent in 2002 from 3.8 percent in 1997, Cambodia's infection rate remains Southeast Asia's highest.

The research team said it would keep trying to recruit some 960 sex workers for the yearlong study set to begin in June.

[Source: CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update 03/30/04]