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For the first time in 26 years after the discovery of HIV/AIDS, a breakthrough has been made in the prevention of HIV infection. Scientists have been studying with two different vaccines, both which prove to be inferior to the AIDS virus individually. In a recent study, scientists combined the two vaccines, and had a 31% success rate of cutting the risk of being infected by the virus.
This is incredible. I personally thought this day would not come until I was in my fifties. Now it brings me new hope: the hope to see a fully preventive vaccine in the next 15 to 20 years.
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For the first time in 26 years after the discovery of HIV/AIDS, a breakthrough has been made in the prevention of HIV infection. Scientists have been studying with two different vaccines, both which prove to be inferior to the AIDS virus individually. In a recent study, scientists combined the two vaccines, and had a 31% success rate of cutting the risk of being infected by the virus.
This is incredible. I personally thought this day would not come until I was in my fifties. Now it brings me new hope: the hope to see a fully preventive vaccine in the next 15 to 20 years.
Related Articles:
Experimental AIDS Vaccine Delivers Good News
AIDS vaccine protects people, shocks researchers.
-Armaan Vachani
11 comments:
Time for some pessimism to set it.
"Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which paid for most of the $105 million trial, said the team was confused because people who got the vaccine and who became infected anyway had just as much virus in their blood and just as much damage to their immune systems as HIV patients who went unvaccinated.
That meant the vaccine helped prevent infection but did nothing to affect the virus once it is in the body.
In addition, the immune responses that were generated by the vaccine should not, in theory, have protected anyone. Fauci said AIDS researchers may have to go back and see if they have been looking at the wrong things when checking the immune response to potential HIV vaccines.
Kim said the vaccine might not work in the people and places where HIV is most common -- in Africa, among men who have sex with men and among injecting drug users. "
- From your second article.
Now, how do we pay for all these vaccines?
We'll have to find a new vaccine if and when the hiv virus mutates.
Kim said the vaccine might not work in the people and places where HIV is most common -- in Africa, among men who have sex with men and among injecting drug users.
The HIV virus is constantly mutating, which means if the vaccine really helps to prevent 31% of infection risk, the scientists must have found a common protein to attack on certain strands of HIV.
I don't know if I just made sense...
Wow i love hearing things like this. I to thought that it would not come in my life time. But
31% is not alot due to the fact that 30.8 million adults and 2 million children were living with HIV at the end of 2007(.http://www.avert.org/worlstatinfo.htm). This new descovery is amazing but may be expencive for the 22 million people of the Sub-Saharan Africa how will they get this?
Kevin..
If my knowledge of Bio is correct, if a vaccine does not work, it doesn't give the person SOME protection, it literally is a hit or miss scenario. To find people who have supposedly been vaccinated but not protected if the disease hits, it's no surprise that they had just as much HIV potency than a person who was not vaccinated.
Well, they are still in development.. so it's not pessimism per say, but rather just a little hope in the already abysmal situation of an HIV vaccine.
Well, things always cost money, so I guess it's time to hope for the best..
To add to this great news. A woman Ms. Ward mentioned last year in AP Bio has been conducting research on the HIV virus specifically regarding a key sugar molecule called mannose that even the mutated viruses contain. This essentially means that if the sugar can be targeted by this vaccine or future vaccines that a cure could be closer than we think. I personally feel that although this new research is clearly groundbreaking, it will be many years before a better vaccine is gleaned because of extensive tests needed, large funds, and willing subjects. However, I'm staying hopeful because HIV needs to be thwarted already!
"...it doesn't give the person SOME protection..."
I never said that. I merely quoted the article.
"A woman Ms. Ward mentioned last year in AP Bio has been conducting research on the HIV virus specifically regarding a key sugar molecule called mannose that even the mutated viruses contain."
Sounds good. Do you think this concept applies to other types of viruses, like the flu virus?
This is promising, but this is what I fear.
"I have HIV/AIDS, but I also like my sexual status, so I'll just get it cured later, whenever that might be."
It's great that we're making progress against this infectious contagion, but my question is, how will infected people be responsible with this vaccine, if it even proves to be successful?
It might be a rhetorical question.
-Andrew Oxendine 3°
In response to Andrew,
Vaccines are used to prevent infection in the first place, not to cure already contracted diseases. So no worries about people with HIV/AIDS being responsible with the vaccine; they won't be using it. And if a cure is found, I think most people will be willing to exchange their "sexual status" (did you mean being sexually active or being homosexual?) for their life.
This is such great news. After so much research and money and effort, it's awesome that scientists are finally getting results. It will undoubtedly take years to get a vaccine out, but at least scientists now have a lead in the right direction. And I agree that affordability would be an issue in Africa where HIV is most common. In some countries 1 IN 5 ADULTS are infected, and ARV treatment, which significantly slows down AIDS progression,is not getting enough funding. It costs around $500 a year per person. For the many Africans living on $2 a day, free funded treatment is the only option. I have a feeling that if 1/5 of all adults in a European country were dying of AIDS more effort would be made to supply them with affordable treatment. Hopefully pharmeceuticals will divert some of their funds for developing male performance drugs towards this new vaccine...
Ok seriously? check this out: US military budget 2009: $514.5 billion. Total grants since 2001 to the Global Fund to fight HIV and AIDS in Africa: $3.3 billion.
http://www.avert.org/aafrica.htm
wow.
I also agree that that this is fantastic news and a great step in the right direction. An article I found about the vacine explained that the full report of the trial will be presented at international "Aids vaccine conference" in Paris in October. Hopefully more encouraging details will come out of the conference!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/24/hiv-infection-vaccine-aids-breakthrough
-Georgia Thomas
and p.s does anyone know how to change my name at the top of the post?? I don't know why its misspelled.
Georgia,
Go to dashboard, edit profile, and change your name under identity.
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