New low-cost HIV treatment hailed

The World Health Organization has recommended a new treatment for HIV-positive children which researchers say can dramatically cut death rates.

The drug - a common antibiotic called co-trimoxazole - costs less than 10 cents per person a day.

A trial on children in Zambia suggests it can nearly halve mortality rates for infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, often caused by HIV.

Every day about 1,300 children die from HIV/Aids illnesses across the world.

The Zambia trial was carried out by doctors from the UK's Medical Research Council.
The study ended early when they realised how effective of the treatment was.

After about 19 months, a quarter of the children who had been taking co-trimoxazole had died, compared with more than 40% of the children who had been given a placebo.

The doctors, along with the WHO and Unicef, are now calling for the antibiotic to be given to all HIV-positive children in developing countries.