Dr Hildreth with his associate who is a director of Infectious Disease professor, Vladimir Bethaud, were recently in Zambia on a five-day visit from June 18-23, 2006 to seek partnership with UTH management to fight HIV/AIDS in a holistic manner.
In 2001, while at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr Hildreth's team discovered cholesterol's instrument role in HIV's ability to infiltrate cells.
Their research culminated in Dr Hildreth developing a vaginal cream that in the laboratory and in animal models blocks the HIV virus and prevents infection.
Investigations indicate that safety was the main concern hence, trial studies in mice proved 95 to 99 per cent successful as professor Berthaud confirmed in an interview.
While in monkeys more than 90 per cent was achieved and now human trials would start before the product was launched soon on the market professor Berthaud further reviews.
The final stage of this research was under way at Meharry, once approved; the cream would be used as antimicrobial agent to prevent the transmission of HIV and other viruses that includes the transmission of mother to child transmission.
"The Chemical Condom that will be packed in cream form will be applied once in seven days by women on their private parts before sex to prevent them from being infected by HIV virus. This way, we hope to make it affordable," Dr Hildreth said.
Women had to use two tea spoons when applying the cream on their private parts but over applying will cause side affects like irritations hence, should be avoided.
He explained that the vagina cream would not have any side affects neither would it kill sperms posing a threat to human production as some critics suggests however, could not warrant a 100 per cent safety as the research was still in its infant stage.
The Chemical Condom is said to block the cholesterol in the virus to avoid mutation once one had unprotected sex with an infected person. The cream that would contain starch sugar that was used as a blockage was found also widely used in many products like drinks, food and other body lotions.
The anti-microbial agent was said to be the natural approach that should be used as an alternative to other existing condoms to also prevent pregnancies but not making women and men impotent as some had suffered.
Dr Hildreth who boasts of 20 years experience in HIV research was in Zambia at the invitation of former Dean in School of Medicine professor, Lupando Munkonge, to enhance partnership with UTH to find an alternative to the fight against the pandemic.
He said despite clinical trials being expensive, exchange programmes would be encouraged between his institutions and UTH henceforth, trials would be done parallel where further research would be intensified.
The visiting doctor said infrastructure was vital and for a country like Zambia like any other development nation, had to incur a lot of money during trial stages in this case UTH needed facilities to start trials.
He disputed the notions that the product would be used to wipe out the black population in the world saying he was black and would not devote his medical work to destruction but would ensure the product was safe and affordable to women.
UTH managing director, Dr Tackson Lambart, disclosed that similar trials were being carried out in Mazabuka in Southern Province.
He welcomed the move to partner with the MMC stating that Chemical Condom was now a national issue that was supposed to be supported by not only the end-users but the citizenly as a whole.
Dr Lambart said the UTH internal medicine department would work closely with MMC to ensure results from research were tangible and beneficial to both rural and urban populace in Zambia and the world over.
Dean in the School of Medicine professor, Yakab Mulla, said Dr Hildreth was a world renowned scientist whose Chemical Condom trials should not be doubted but supported by everyone including UTH and Zambians at large.
Professor Mulla said the partnership with Dr Hildreth's Institution would help serve as a bridge to fill the gap that had been created by the migrating health personnel especially the nurses who had left Zambia for greener pastures.
After all, the "Keep the Promise" on the fight against HIV/AIDS is starting bearing fruits with the invention of the Chemical Condom but the question Zambians and the world were asking is, would this alternative encourage promiscuity among the women retarding the efforts to find a cure for the pandemic? Only time would time.
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