An HIV vaccine under
development by scientists has passed through to the next phase,
creating hope for a future after more than 40 years of research and
development.
Participants in the research were selected from 12 clinics in East Africa, South Africa,
Thailand, and the USA. The HIV-1 vaccine proved safe and is currently
set to go to the next phase, which will be conducted in 2600 women in
Southern Africa in a trial called imbokodo, a Zulu word for ‘rock’.
“I would say that we are pleased with these data so far, but we have
to interpret the data cautiously. We have to acknowledge that developing
an HIV vaccine is an unprecedented challenge, and we will not know for
sure whether this vaccine will protect humans,” said study
co-author Dr. Dan H. Barouch, a professor at Harvard Medical School and
the director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research.
A side experiment using the various strains of the vaccine was
conducted on monkeys and the most effective result showed 67 per cent of
monkeys were protected.
The news creates an optimistic picture in a world where more than 37m people are living with HIV and with 1.8m new cases of HIV infection every year.
However, the scientists are fast to temper the optimism saying that
the process still has a long way to go and that a successful trial does
not necessarily mean a viable vaccine.
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Disclaimer: Comment expressed do not reflect the opinion of African Parliamentary News