Study: Spermicide Doesn’t Block Stds

A new study finds that using a spermicide with a condom provides no additional protection against HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases.

The findings released Thursday differ from previous research suggesting that spermicides appear to protect women against gonorrhea and chlamydia, two of the most common STDs.

Officials at the Family Health International, which conducted the two-year study on the spermicide nonoxynol-9, said previous research was conducted on a much smaller scale.

While officials were disappointed by the findings, they said that the results stress the need to continue research for a product that women can use independent of their male partners.

Nonoxynol-9 is a detergentlike chemical that has been widely used for more than 30 years in over-the-counter gels, foams and creams used to kill sperm.

Research shows it kills the AIDS virus in test tubes, but other studies show nonoxynol-9 also irritates the vagina, raising the fear that it could let the HIV virus more easily infect women.

The FHI study, conducted in two cities in Cameroon, compared women who used condoms with the spermicide to those who used condoms and placebos.

The rate of HIV transmission was nearly the same for both groups.

FHI is a non-profit North Carolina research group that focuses on improving reproductive health, primarily through contraception and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.