A recent article on aidsmap.com announces, “A novel and relatively simple vaccine that can be administered orally has managed to completely block rectal infection with SIV, the monkey equivalent of HIV, in rhesus macaques and produced rapid re-suppression of viral load in monkeys who were previously infected with SIV.

“The vaccine, whose success at blocking infection was described by its own designers as ‘surprising’ and ‘unexpected’…

“…The vaccine programme is a collaboration between scientists at the French Institute for Research into Cancer and HIV Vaccines at Paris-Descartes University and ones at the Chinese Tropical Medicine Institute at the University of Chinese Medicine in Guangzhou.    

“The researchers note that their approach was based on a long-held hypothesis that conventional vaccines that rely on stimulating an immune response to a microbe in advance of exposure to it could not work in HIV, as this virus uses the very cells that proliferate in an immune response – primarily CD4 T-cells – as the ones it chooses to reproduce in. The trick with an HIV vaccine would therefore be to induce the body to recognise HIV but not mount a proliferative response to it. This could work if the body is induced to respond to HIV as if it was harmless – to induce so-called ‘immune tolerance’ to it.

“…Two initial safety trials are now planned in humans.”

To read more details see the link above.

Deb Gaber