HIV Vaccine Test Begins in London

Recent efforts to find a vaccine to prevent HIV began in the lab at the hospital London, England, as well as two research centers in Africa. The scientists recruited 64 healthy adults in the study were expected to be completed in two years.

Early trials of this vaccine by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), a nonprofit organization. The research will be split between London, the capital of Rwanda, Kigali, and Nairobi in Kenya. Africa is the continent with the highest HIV epidemic.

HIV virus was discovered 30 years ago, but the research to find a vaccine so far no satisfactory. The research team from the United States in Thailand in 2009 found a combination of two prototype vaccine 30 percent effective in preventing HIV infection. Further research is being prepared to improve these results.

In a trial conducted by a team of IAVI, the volunteers who are free from the risk of contracting HIV infection and it will get a combination of the two vaccines. One was taken from the virus that causes flu-like illness that infects mice. The vaccine is administered via drops in the nose so that no syringe needed.

"I believe we have an effective vaccine because scientific data to support it. We'll get there, but it takes time vaccine development," said Dr. Jill Gilmour, who led the research.

He pointed out that the new polio vaccine discovered 45 years after the virus unrecognizable.

"HIV is a formidable opponent and cunning. Always changing every time he shared so many variables. Virus can also be joined by our own cells so that the immune system does not recognize it," he said.

Later, if the vaccine is tested provide a robust immune response, is imminent large-scale testing to see if the vaccine is effective in reducing the transmission or reduce the amount of virus.

"The virus used was modified from viruses that infect rodents. From our perspective, this is a bonus because the virus was already living in a human environment without causing interference," he said.

IAVI lab at the Chelsea and Westminster UK already handles more than 100,000 blood samples annually and helps more than 20 vaccine trial.