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News items on 'Human Immunodeficiency Virus'
Growing doubts about HIV vaccine
(BBC 20/10/2009)
Doubts have been raised about the reliability of a trial suggesting success for a vaccine against HIV. In the large-scale trial in Thailand, a combination of vaccines seemed to give volunteers a protective effect of 31%. The US military and Thai government, who co-sponsored the trial, said the effect was not caused by random chance but was statistically significant. But new data, being published at a conference in Paris on Tuesday, is believed to question that assertion.
Test case for Zambia HIV policy
(BBC 06/10/2009)
Two ex-officers in Zambia's air force are suing the military, saying they were tested and treated for HIV without their knowledge. Stanley Kingaipe and Charles Chookole claim they were dismissed for being HIV positive - claims the air force denies. Mandatory HIV screening is not legal in the military, and the government denies the two men were tested. Their appearance at Livingstone's High Court is being viewed as a test case regarding mandatory testing for HIV.
Many more receiving HIV therapy
(BBC 30/09/2009)
Falling prices and increased testing have led to a marked rise in the number of people in the poorest parts of the world receiving treatment for HIV. The number of people on antiretrovirals had risen by 1m by the end of 2008, a 36% increase from the previous year, the World Health Organisation reports. But despite the progress, less than half of those needing treatment get it. The majority of pregnant women still go untreated, and their infants are infected via "vertical transmission".
Long battle
(BBC 24/09/2009)
It is no surprise that Thailand has held the largest ever trial of an HIV vaccine. The South East Asian country has long been at the forefront of the battle against HIV and Aids. "I did this for others," said 33-year-old electrician Thanad Yomha. Thanad was one of more than 16,000 Thais who volunteered to take part in the trial, jointly by the Thai government and US military. The researchers had sought HIV-negative people between the ages of 18 and 30 who were at an average risk of infection.
The holy grail?
(BBC 24/09/2009)
HIV researchers say the results from a large trial in Thailand offer renewed optimism that an effective HIV vaccine is possible. What is different about this vaccine? For more than 20 years, the field of HIV vaccine research has been dogged by disappointment. The latest trial combined two vaccines which on their own had been shown not to be effective. Scientists are anxiously awaiting the publication of the full trial data so they can judge how significant the findings are.
HIV/Aids trial offer vaccine hope
(BBC 24/09/2009)
An experimental HIV vaccine has cut the risk of infection by nearly a third in a major trial, researchers say. The vaccine - a combination of two earlier experimental vaccines - was given to 16,000 people in a joint trial by the Thai government and US military. It reduced by 31% the volunteers' risk of contracting HIV, the virus that leads to Aids. The findings have been described as a significant scientific breakthrough but a worldwide vaccine is some way off.
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Researchers make potential breakthrough in search for aids vaccine
(World health - EU Monitor 19/09/2009)
Researchers from the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) have found two antibodies that kill the HIV virus, which may turn out to be a significant advance in the search for a vaccine against the virus that causes AIDS. The discovery came from research launched by IAVI in 2006, to find antibodies that neutralise a wide variety of strains of HIV circulating in the world. Blood from 1,800 HIV positive volunteers was analysed and screened for antibodies [early research].
Charities criticise Aids-awareness ad featuring Hitler lookalike
(BBC 06/09/2009)
A graphic Aids-awareness TV advert which features an Adolf Hitler lookalike having sex has been condemned by HIV charities. It will be shown on German TV next week ahead of World Aids Day in December. The German charity behind the film says Aids has killed 30 million people worldwide, and it wants to shake people up by linking Aids with mass murder. But other organisations said it could be Aids sufferers, not the disease itself, who are associated with Hitler.
The Battle in Uganda Over Female Condoms (Time.com)
(World health - EU Monitor 30/08/2009)
In July, the Ugandan government announced that, using cash from the U.N. Population Fund, it would distribute 100,000 female condoms in a bid to stop a resurgence of HIV/AIDS. Advocates cheered the initiative, saying it would give women more control over their own bodies. Instead of serving as a surefire weapon against the spread of HIV, Uganda's female condoms initiative has become the latest example of the limitations faced by governments, advocacy groups and donors fighting the virus.
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