US researchers have said that a common treatment for herpes can also slow progression of the AIDS virus among co-infected patients.

Most people infected with HIV are also coincidentally infected with type 2 herpes simplex virus, or HSV2.

According to the reports of BBC, scientists said that aciclovir does have a braking effect that is modest but could become a useful option for doctors.

University of Washington boffins in the study of 3,300 patients in Africa, found that aciclovir reduced the risk of HIV progression by 16 percent.

Dr Jairam Lingappa, the leader of the study, said: "While the HIV disease ameliorating effect we have observed is modest, it could add one more tool to help people with HIV infection stay

healthy for longer."

Gus Cairns, editor of HIV Treatment Update further added: "It''s nice to see a positive result in this field. There are biological reasons to believe that treating people''s herpes could make them

less likely to acquire HIV, or less likely to transmit it if they already have it, but results of trials testing the idea have been disappointing. Now at least we find that aciclovir, a very cheap, non-

toxic and widely-available drug, can prolong the time some patients may be able to stay off the more expensive, and sometimes toxic, HIV drugs." (With Input from Agencies)