Researchers this week will begin the first human trials of an experimental HIV vaccine on 24 volunteers in South Africa.
The treatment, which also is being tested in the United States, is one of about two dozen potential vaccines being tried out on about 12,000 volunteers in experiments around the world. It is the only one that contains genetic material from the HIV strain most prevalent in South Africa, researchers said Monday.
Scientists hope the test vaccine will stimulate the production of antibodies to fight off AIDS infections and train specialized cells–dubbed killer T-cells–to identify and eliminate infected cells after someone contracts the virus.
About 4.7 million South Africans, roughly 11 percent of the population, are infected with HIV, and an estimated 600 people die every day from AIDS-related complications.
