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The US Army carried out tests on 16,000 HIV-negative volunteers in Thailand. It found that infections were prevented in over a third of the 8,000 people who received the vaccine, compared with the other 8,000 who were given the placebo.
Although the 31.2% decrease in the risk of infection among trial members is not huge, it has given scientists hope. It is possible that in the future there could be a way of preventing the spread of this highly contagious virus which infects around 6,800 people a day.
The vaccine is a combination of Sanofi-Pasteur's ALVAC canary pox vaccine and the failed HIV vaccine AIDSVAX, made by a San Francisco company called VaxGen and now owned by the nonprofit Global Solutions for Infectious Diseases.
"The result of the study is a very important step for developing an AIDS vaccine," Thai health minister Withaya Kaewparadai said. "It's the first time in the world that we have found a vaccine that can prevent HIV infection."
The initial trial was criticized for being a waste of money and dubbed 'unethical'. However, the results of the study, which started in 2003, was seen as a triumph for supporters.
In Geneva, the World Health Organization and the Joint United Natiopnals Programme on HIV/AIDS said: "The study results, representing a significant scientific advance, are the first demonstration that a vaccine can prevent HIV infection in a general adult population and are of great importance."
Written by: Cheryl Phillips
Providence, RI
Exclusive to HULIQ.com
Source: WHO,Reuters
Posted September 24th, 2009 by Cheryl Phillips
