A drug that is commonly used to treat herpes has been found to delay the need for HIV drugs in patients that suffer from both infections, researchers say.

American researchers in Africa studying over 3,000 patients found that the drug aciclovir has reduced the risk of HIV progression by more that 16 percent.  Researchers are saying that the “modest” effect is an inexpensive way to keep people with HIV healthy for a longer period of time.

The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Washington, Seattle.  One expert mentioned that it is important to note that aciclovir  did not reduce the infectiousness of HIV patients.

Most people that are infected with HIV are also infected with the herpes simplex virus, or genital herpes.  Previous studies showed that keeping the herpes virus under wraps reduced HIV levels, but it was unknown whether or not this slowed the disease down.

“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,” said lead researcher Dr. Jairam Lingappa.

While the research is good news, some are still concerned about the fact that aciclovir does not make people less infectious, whereas the HIV drugs do.