The findings were hailed as a breakthrough in medicine by Hilary Benn, the International Development Secretary.

Scientists from the Medical Research Council (MRC) conducted a trial in Zambia to see whether the drug co-trimoxazole could stop fatal infections linked with Aids. An HIV-positive group of 541 children aged 1 to 14 were given daily doses of the antibiotic or a placebo.

After 19 months, about a quarter of the treated children had died compared with more than 40 per cent of those receiving the dummy drug. Using the antibiotic also reduced hospital admissions by 23 per cent.

About 38 million people around the world have HIV, according to figures by the UN agency UNAids. Of that total, about 25 million live in subSaharan Africa.

The research, led by Dr Diana Gibb from the MRC’s Clinical Trials Unit and funded by the Department for Inter- national Development, is published today in The Lancet medical journal.

The researchers contend that co-trimoxazole should be administered as a matter of course to all children in Africa who are HIV-positive.

Mr Benn said: “This is a breakthrough in medical research which can help save children’s lives all over the world.

“Each day, as many as 1,300 children die from . . . Aidsrelated illnesses globally. The trial paid for by the department and designed and run by the MRC Clinical Trials Unit has shown how this widely available, affordable antibiotic drug can almost halve child deaths by warding off potentially fatal illnesses in children whose immune systems are weakened because of HIV.”

Doctors traditionally are opposed to long-term uses of antibiotics on the grounds that this can build resistance to the drug. However, Dr Gibb and her co-authors said that they found no evidence that the drug had become less effective by the time the follow-up check was carried out. In addition to this finding, the drug was well tolerated by the children, and few were allergic to it.

“Tackling HIV infection directly is just one approach to management,” Dr Gibb said. “Reducing the secondary complications and infections, which can be just as fatal as HIV itself to those with weak immune systems, is also important.”

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