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Progress in the fight against HIV: An active ingredient protects monkeys from infection. Now, a big human test is planned.
Scientists have made significant progress in the search for an HIV vaccine for the AIDS virus. An active substance has produced an immune response in humans and protected monkeys against infection, the newspaper The Lancet reported Saturday. The next step is to test the drug on 2,600 women in South Africa.
"The results are promising, but we must remain cautious," said medical professor Dan Barouch of Harvard University, AFP. The data did not prove that humans could be protected from HIV by the vaccine.
In a laboratory study, 72 monkeys received an injection of the active substance and an HIV-like virus. Two-thirds of the animals were thus completely protected from infection by the vaccine.
The HIV vaccine would have little side effects
Barouch and his team also conducted a study on 393 healthy adults aged 18 to 50 in Africa. East, South Africa, Thailand and the United States. Part of the group received the active substance, the remaining participants received only one placebo. Medical professor Barouch said the drug "triggered strong immune responses in humans."
The drug also caused side effects in a few participants – five complained of stomach upset and diarrhea, dizziness or back pain. As a result, vaccine research is now ready for the next phase: it will inject 2,600 women in South Africa to see if it can actually prevent AIDS. The results are expected in 2021/2022.
Finding an AIDS vaccine is extremely difficult because the avian influenza virus is highly adaptive. Globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 37 million people are infected with HIV or already living with AIDS. Each year, about 1.8 million people newly infected with the virus, which destroys the body's immune system. About a million people die each year. (afp)
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