AIDS gel with Gilead drug protects women in study

(Refiled to change date of report)

WASHINGTON, July 19 (Reuters) - A gel made using Gilead Sciences Inc's (GILD.O) HIV drug tenofovir reduced HIV infections in women by 39 percent over two and a half years -- the first time such an approach has protected against the virus, South African researchers reported.

In addition, the gel reduced the risk a woman would get genital herpes by 51 percent, a surprise finding that adds further benefits, Dr. Salim Abdool Karim at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa said in results to be released on Tuesday at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna. (Reporting by Maggie Fox, Editing by Sandra Maler)