HIV Vaccine: October 2006 Archives

Ugandan and American Aids researchers have begun the first ever clinical trial of a vaccine to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV through breast-feeding which, if successful, could prevent at least 25,000 infections in new-borns in East Africa alone.

In the first phase of the trials the researchers will be testing whether the vaccine, formally known as ALVAC-HIV, is safe for use in children, following which they will study whether it can stop the transmission of the Aids virus to a suckling baby through breastmilk. Preliminary results are expected in mid-2007.

According to the UNAids, breast-feeding by HIV-positive mothers accounts for more than a third of all infections in new-borns, translating to about 1,800 children each day around the world. In Uganda alone, at least 8,000 of the country's 22,000 infections in children each year occur as a result of breast-feeding.

Even as Mid-South health providers gear up to begin vaccinating against one sexually transmitted disease, the human papillomavirus (HPV), Memphis researchers are working on vaccines against two more.

At St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Drs. Karen Slobod and Julia Hurwitz have been working for more than a decade on a vaccine to protect against the AIDS virus. Although medications have helped transform AIDS from a rapidly fatal to a chronic disease, there is still no vaccine or cure.

Human testing with the experimental vaccine began in the late 1990s. In a statement, Dr. Elaine Tuomanen, chairwoman of St. Jude's department of infectious disease, said a final round of safety testing is expected to begin early next year. She indicated the next step will be determined by those results along with the immune response the vaccine sparks.

LONDON (AFX) - Bavarian Nordic AS said it has started a Phase I and a Phase I/II clinical study in Europe with MVA-BN polytope vaccine against HIV.

The vaccine was recently released from the company's facility in Berlin for use in clinical trials.

Results from both studies are expected in the second half of 2007.

MVA-BN polytope is the second of the company's three vaccine candidates to enter clinical trials.

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HIV/AIDS vaccine trials to prevent mother-to-child transmission through breast-feeding have started at Mulago Hospital, writes Hillary Kiirya.

The trail, the first in Africa, started on Thursday on the first-born baby out of the 50 mothers screened.

"Making breastfeeding safe is possibly the most important challenge for those involved in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission in Sub-Saharan Africa," said Prof. Francis Mmiro, the lead investigator of the study.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: The campaign, called "Be The Generation," calls on young people in the U.S. to stop AIDS through the discovery of a safe and effective HIV vaccine during their lifetime.

It will launch this month with a television ad running for six weeks in 14 U.S. cities where HIV vaccine research is underway.

The campaign also includes a Web site, bethegeneration.org, a community toolkit and partnerships with vaccine research institutions and community-based groups (NIAID release, 10/16).

While the majority of news websites are spamming that there are enough flu shots for the next "flu season", at the same time there are some reports of flu shots not being available straight away. In my opinion all this is nothing else but a "battage" or a stir created by PR departements of pharmaceutical companies and related media corporations.

It will be a shame to miss something which in reality is much more important than a hype against a shot which will "save" you from 2 weeks of sneezing.

Here it is:

The first HIV vaccine trial in Jamaica has begun with 24 persons who have volunteered to be tested from an experimental vaccine. Beginning today, The Sunday Gleaner will carry a diary of persons participating in the study. Dr. Peter Figueroa, chief of epidemiology and AIDS at the Ministry of Health, said it was not possible for persons to contract HIV or develop AIDS from the experimental vaccine. "I must stress that it is not possible to get HIV infection or develop AIDS from experimental vaccines< because they are not made from live HIV, killed HIV (or) weakened HIV or infected cells," he stated

Scientists at Makerere University, in Uganda, along with scientists from Johns Hopkins and other institutions worldwide, have begun the first clinical safety trial in Africa of a vaccine to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV through breastfeeding, according to a news release from Johns Hopkins Friday.

Breast milk is a leading route of infection in the developing world, according to the World Health Organization, which estimates that each day 1,800 newborns are infected with the AIDS virus, 30 percent to 40 percent by virus carried in their mother's milk.

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Studies presented at the Modern Vaccine Adjuvants et Delivery Systems Conference and at the AIDS Vaccine Conference 2006 show improved immunogenicity of vaccines when used with the Biojector® 2000 ("B2000") in cancer and AIDS vaccines.