Victory over AIDS epidemic finally within reach: U.S. researcher

Source: AFP via Raw Story
By Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Thirty years after the AIDS epidemic surfaced, hope of conquering the deadly epidemic has never been greater, according to a longtime US leader in the AIDS fight, Anthony Fauci.

This hope has been spurred by recent advances toward a vaccine and new breakthoughs in treatment and prevention, said Fauci, who has headed the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984.

"Over the last one and half years we have had several important advances which when you put them together and combine them are now pointing very strongly to the fact that we can essentially be able to ultimately control and obviously ultimately end the AIDS pandemic," he told AFP.

Previous discoveries include how male circumcision can reduce by almost 65 percent the risk of transmitting the human immunodeficiency virus, the effectiveness of vaginal microbicides and drug treatments that can prevent an infected pregnant mother from passing the disease to her child.

More at: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/30/victory-over-aids-epidemic-finally-within-reach-u-s-researcher/