The scientists say the tenofovir gel was also effective against another sexually spread disease. The gel reduced the rate of infection of herpes simplex-two by fifty-one percent.

Health experts say the results of the study show that tenofovir gel can empower women. They say it will enable them to protect themselves from HIV infection when involved with sexual partners who refuse to wear condoms.

However, researchers say they will study why the gel did not protect in all cases. Some scientists say the amount of tenofovir in the gel may be too low. Others say some women may have had sex with infected men who had very high amounts of the virus. Still others said some women may have had vaginal conditions that made them more likely to become infected. The researchers also say they will carry out more studies to confirm the results.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report written by Caty Weaver. Transcripts, MP3s and archives of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Fritzi Bodenheimer.