Findings HIV Vaccine Still Doubtful

The discovery of a vaccine that can prevent a person infected with HIV to 31.2 per cent on 24 September 2009 re-fuss. This time, scientists doubted whether the vaccine can provide significant protection.

Previously, the study found shows that the combination vaccine for HIV could provide a protective effect of 31.2 percent which has been tested on 16,000 heterosexual aged 18 years to 30 years.

Recent data have been published in a conference in Paris, indicated that small-scale findings might provide a strong and significant. However, researchers say up to now not been able to understand what causes these vaccines provide less protection, especially for people most at risk.

Although the discovery of this vaccine was encouraging, but many scientists are worried that the protective effect of this vaccine is very small. Evidenced by the 8,000 people who get the vaccine, 51 people remain infected. While people who do not receive the vaccine among 74 infected. This shows no significant difference between groups of people who got the vaccine with the control group.

However, researchers who conduct this experiment 31.2 per cent said that given the protective effect is indeed real, although some scientists began to have doubts about how strong protective effect of this vaccine is.

The researchers also considered that this vaccine can not be used in Africa where the HIV infection rate was highest, though not yet be explained with certainty. Therefore researchers added that prevention and education is the best form of protection against HIV infection good for this medium term.

"We have something that can be used to protect a third of people infected with HIV virus in Thailand. Although this is not an effective vaccine globally, but this vaccine could still be used for areas outside of Thailand," said Colonel Jerome Kim, who is a manager HIV vaccine products for the United States Army, as quoted by BBC News, Wednesday (21/10/2009).

Therefore, until now researchers are continuing to develop a vaccine against HIV, in order to produce a vaccine that really works and can provide great protection, especially for those most at risk. Vaccines are still in doubt this is a combination of the vaccine Sanofi-Pasteur's ALVAC Canary pox / HIV and HIV vaccine AIDSVAX.