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HIV
preventative vaccine trials begin in India
A
giant step forward is being made in medicine.
A
new preventative HIV vaccine was tested
Monday on human volunteers in India. The
country, which has more than five million
of its population infected by HIV or AIDS,
according to Voice of America news, is testing
for a specialized regional vaccine. It is
excellent that people are willing to donate
their bodies and the time it takes to test
such a vaccine.
The
vaccine, named tgAAC09, was injected into
30 healthy volunteers, according to the
Hindustan Times. Some volunteers will receive
a placebo, while others will receive the
preventative AIDS vaccine. The National
AIDS Research Institute in Pune is conducting
the study over approximately two years.
The immunity reaction will be tested on
humans after being tested on some monkeys
that showed the vaccine's potential to protect
against a virus similar to HIV. The volunteers
will not be exposed to the HIV virus, so
there is no risk of infection.
The
vaccine targets the HIV subtype C virus,
which causes 90 percent of India's HIV infection,
according to the Hindustan Times. Because
the virus mutates, no successful vaccine
has been created yet. The study will take
quite a while; it could be eight to 10 years
before the vaccine will be fully developed,
but this is a huge step forward in research.
Two United States companies, Targeted Genetics
Corp of Seattle and Columbus Children's
Research Institute of Ohio, helped to design
the vaccine.
It
is wonderful that the scientists have this
opportunity to test on humans. Much fuss
is made about animal testing and cruelty,
but the truth is without animal testing
on mammals with similar systems, there is
no way to know the possible effects of a
drug before human use, unless there are
willing human participants. India has the
power now to make a huge difference in the
world of medicine against a disease that
has never been stopped, only controlled.
The number of people with AIDS or HIV in
India could be vastly greater than estimated
because many could be carrying the virus
unknowingly.
This
vaccine has a regional difference from other
HIV vaccine tests. Changes have been made
to specially target the Indian population.
Around two-thirds of HIV or AIDS victims
live in rural areas, according to Voice
of America news. These people have limited
access to health facilities and many may
not know they carry the virus. This vaccine
study has the potential to eventually help
all Indians to prevent the disease from
spreading.
The
total impact of this study will not be seen
until 10 or more years from now, but the
implications are amazing. If this study
can create a vaccine for this particular
region and be successful in preventing HIV
from spreading, then vaccines can theoretically
be created for every region on the planet
and HIV and AIDS will finally be contained
and prevented completely. These human volunteers
are brave souls willing to donate their
time and efforts to the greater good. The
world needs more people like them.
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