Hope for HIV Victims:There is possibility of vaccine

 New study shows potential HIV vaccine has been successful on test subjects.
 – Uses virus linked to common cold to produce results.
 – Trial took place in Africa and North America.
According to new research the long awaited HIV vaccine could, just possibly, be a reality soon.
Research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday showed a new type of HIV vaccine was relatively successful when trialed.
The study, conducted among 218 volunteers in Africa and North America, tested two different vaccine methods.


One method used a vaccine consisting of adenovirus serotype 26, the other used adenovirus serotype 35.
Adenoviruses are airborne viruses that occur naturally and generally cause common colds.
They have been suggested for use as vaccine ‘vectors,’ or a carrier of a virus, to produce immune responses against HIV.

A visual representation of the HIV virus

“The development of a vaccine to prevent HIV infection is a global health priority,” Annals reported in a news release.
“To date, four vaccine strategies have been assessed for possible efficacy and only has showed modest and short-lived efficacy. A significant challenge is how to elicit robust and durable anti-HIV-1 immune response.”
Adenovirus serotypes 26 and 35 are not very common, so the idea is that a vaccine using them will not fail due to a person’s natural immunity.

These adenovirus-vectored serotypes already have been shown to be protective as HIV-1 vaccines in monkeys.
“Both vaccines elicited significant immune responses in all populations,” the authors said.

The trial was conducted between October 2010 and November 2012.
None of those involved in the trial suffered any side effects.
The study was comprised of approximately half of the participants’ women and half men, with an average age of 27.