In what is being hailed as a major advance in the battle against AIDS, two studies in Africa have shown that a daily pill containing either one or two anti-HIV drugs can reduce transmission of the virus by as much as three-quarters among heterosexual couples.

The results were so compelling that one of the studies was halted early and the drugs given to all the participants, researchers said Wednesday.

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In the absence of a vaccine to protect against the virus, the results suggest that this new approach, termed pre-exposure prophylaxis, may represent the best hope for slowing or even halting the spread of the deadly plague throughout the developing world.

A study in gay men reported last November showed that one of the drugs in the new trial could reduce the spread of […]