ID :
81550
Thu, 09/24/2009 - 19:01
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http://m.oananews.org//node/81550
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Thai-American AIDS vaccine trial cuts risk of infection for first time
BANGKOK, Sept 24 (TNA) – Announcing significant breakthrough in the war against HIV-AIDS, an experimental AIDS vaccine achieved through Thai-American cooperation is now considered having effective potential to cut the risk of infection by about 31 per cent, Thailand’s Minister of Public Health Witthaya Kaewparadai said on Thursday.
The Thai minister spoke to a news conference here with United States ambassador to Thailand Eric G. John that researchers from both countries have spent six years in the third-phase AIDS vaccine experiment, conducting the world's largest vaccine trial on 16,402 HIV-negative Thai volunteers living in the seaside provinces of Rayong and Chonburi.
The first phase, carried out with a small group of volunteers, tested whether the candidate vaccines were safe. The second phase used a larger group of volunteers is to determine whether the candidate vaccines stimulated the immune system. The results from these studies showed the two candidate vaccines to be safe and immunogenic, supporting the continuation of research in Phase III to test whether the candidate vaccines can provide infection protection in real life settings.
Mr Witthaya said that a two-vaccine injection combo, ALVAC-AIDSVAX, had been administered to the volunteers six times.
The test results showed that the vaccine can prevent the risk of becoming infected with HIV at a certain level, 31.2 per cent, said the Thai minister, adding that this is the world's first potential AIDS vaccine trial.
Mr Witthaya, however, cautioned that the vaccine cannot yet be used as it can still does not decrease the amount of viral infection in the bloodstream and that the researchers are planning to conduct further studies and experiments to top this initial success.
Shortly after the announcement, the World Health Organization and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS issued a statement hailing the study results as “the first demonstration that a vaccine can prevent HIV infection in a general adult population and are of great importance."
The two UN agencies, however, noted that further studies would have to be taken to ensure that such a vaccine would work against other strains in many parts of the world. (TNA)
The Thai minister spoke to a news conference here with United States ambassador to Thailand Eric G. John that researchers from both countries have spent six years in the third-phase AIDS vaccine experiment, conducting the world's largest vaccine trial on 16,402 HIV-negative Thai volunteers living in the seaside provinces of Rayong and Chonburi.
The first phase, carried out with a small group of volunteers, tested whether the candidate vaccines were safe. The second phase used a larger group of volunteers is to determine whether the candidate vaccines stimulated the immune system. The results from these studies showed the two candidate vaccines to be safe and immunogenic, supporting the continuation of research in Phase III to test whether the candidate vaccines can provide infection protection in real life settings.
Mr Witthaya said that a two-vaccine injection combo, ALVAC-AIDSVAX, had been administered to the volunteers six times.
The test results showed that the vaccine can prevent the risk of becoming infected with HIV at a certain level, 31.2 per cent, said the Thai minister, adding that this is the world's first potential AIDS vaccine trial.
Mr Witthaya, however, cautioned that the vaccine cannot yet be used as it can still does not decrease the amount of viral infection in the bloodstream and that the researchers are planning to conduct further studies and experiments to top this initial success.
Shortly after the announcement, the World Health Organization and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS issued a statement hailing the study results as “the first demonstration that a vaccine can prevent HIV infection in a general adult population and are of great importance."
The two UN agencies, however, noted that further studies would have to be taken to ensure that such a vaccine would work against other strains in many parts of the world. (TNA)
