Image from telegraph.co.uk
As we’re all (hopefully) aware, condoms do a pretty commendable job preventing STDs and an accidental baby. However, when it comes to preventing pregnancy and sexual infections, a condom pre-coated in antiviral gel that can kill up to 99.9% of HIV, genital herpes, and human papillomavirus infections sounds like a great improvement that nobody should want to pass up (and hopefully this includes the U.S. in the near future).
In Australia, this nanotech-powered condom will soon be available to all its inhabitants, ensuring even safer sex than your average condom can provide. The key aspect of the revolutionary form of birth control is VivaGel, which is an antiviral gel powered by nanotechnology. The active ingredient in this gel is nano-sized molecules that attach to sexual viruses, such as HIV or HPV, and prevent these viruses from binding to human cells. No binding equals no infection.
This newest development in sexual health was developed by Starpharma, an Australian biotech firm, which in turn has partnered up with Ansell, the world’s second largest condom manufacturer. Although it is cautioned that no condoms can guarantee 100% effectiveness in preventing both pregnancy and infections, the gel incorporated with these condoms will greatly reduce the instances of sexual infections and unwanted pregnancies; which is a great step to improving the 20-year high HIV diagnoses that have just been reached in Australia.
Currently, this VivaGel is also being tested as a possible treatment for bacterial vaginosis and is still undergoing trials in the U.S. for symptomatic relief and prevention. Although this gel is still being tested for effectiveness, and has had a few precautions urged about it from researchers, the drug is said to still look “promising” in theory according to Dr. Anna-Barbara Moscicki, a pediatrics professor and HPV expert.
And while these HIV-killing condoms are paving a great way for other sexual health procedures and protections to come, perhaps the U.S. should take notice on Australia’s new technology, or at least ambition in preventing and controlling diseases and/or infections, if this country wants to reduce instances of sexual infections and pregnancy rates.
