NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -
In high income countries, programs that encourage abstinence from sex as the
only method of preventing HIV infection are not effective in achieving this
goal, findings from a review of trial data suggest.News (Updated August 5, 2007)
[Home] [Previous news]
Tuesday July 31, 4:02 pm ET
By Brian Witte, Associated Press Writer
The five-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been awarded to the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute of Human Virology, which was founded by Dr. Robert Gallo, who co-discovered HIV and developed the first HIV blood test.
"We have a vaccine candidate that we think is extra interesting and certainly unique in its properties," Gallo said at a news conference in Annapolis announcing the grant.
Gallo emphasized it will take years of research at the Baltimore-based institute to develop an effective vaccine. However, Gallo said early studies have shown promise to produce an immune system response to various HIV strains.
Developing a vaccine is a complex challenge because of the genetic variation of HIV. The genetic variation is caused by the rapid mutation rate of the virus. The variation means that the virus can escape immune responses.
Gallo's study at the institute has shown promise in addressing a long-bedeviling problem for researchers.
"We think it's on the way to solving one of the major problems of HIV -- its variation," Gallo said.
The grant is part of the Gates Foundation's Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery, an international network of researchers focused on speeding up the pace of developing a safe vaccine. The effort started last year with $287 million in grants.
The grant will support a public-private partnership among the Institute of Human Virology, a spin-off biotech company called Profectus BioSciences and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. The vaccine technology has been licensed from the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute by Wyeth through Profectus BioSciences. Profectus BioSciences was created in 2003 as a vehicle to develop and commercialize technology developed at the Institute of Human Virology.
Dave Wilkins, chief operating officer at the institute, said the first payment of the award, which will be about $2.1 million, is expected to be available in two or three weeks. It will be used to pay salaries for about 10 to 15 scientists, supplies and equipment maintenance.
Gov. Martin O'Malley described the announcement as one of "very far-reaching and global importance."
"This grant reinforces what Marylanders have long known: that our state is a world leader in biotechnology, and more importantly, a leader in finding a vaccine that can help the thousands of people affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic," O'Malley said.
(For more information about the vaccine, go to http://www.profectusbiosciences.com/discovery_vaccine.html)
Fri Aug 3, 2007 2:07 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -
In high income countries, programs that encourage abstinence from sex as the
only method of preventing HIV infection are not effective in achieving this
goal, findings from a review of trial data suggest.
As reported in this week's issue of the British Medical Journal, Dr. Kristen Underhill and colleagues, from the University of Oxford in the UK, searched 30 electronic databases to identify studies that examined the effectiveness of abstinence-only programs as a means of preventing HIV infection. Data from 13 trials, containing nearly 16,000 U.S. youth, were included in their analysis.
Compared with no program, safer sex programs, and various other control programs, the abstinence-only programs did not seem to reduce HIV risk. Specifically, abstinence-only programs did not influence the rate of unprotected vaginal sex, the number of sexual partners, condom use, or initiation of sexual activity.
In one trial, there was evidence that abstinence-only programs may have had an adverse effect. Compared with a comparison group of young people who did not participate in an HIV prevention program, abstinence-only programs were associated with a rise in sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy. Still, the authors note that other trials did not show a significant link between abstinence-only programs and these outcomes.
In another trial, there was a suggestion that abstinence-only programs may reduce levels of vaginal sex, but the follow-up period was relatively short.
"In contrast to abstinence only programs, programs that promote the use of condoms greatly reduce the risk of acquiring HIV, especially when such programs are culturally tailored behavioral interventions targeting people at highest risk of HIV infection," Dr. Stephen E. Hawes, from the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues note in a relate editorial.
SOURCE: British Medical Journal, August 4, 2007.
Tue Jul 31, 9:29 PM ET
The international trafficking of women to work as prostitutes is likely a key factor in the spread of HIV across South Asia, according to a study released Wednesday that found high rates of the virus in Nepali girls and woman who worked in Indian brothels.
The study in the Journal of the American Medical Association examined 287 Nepali women and girls who had been trafficked into Indian brothels and returned to Nepal between 1997 and 2005. It found that some 40 percent of them were HIV positive, with the figure rising to 60 percent among those who had been trafficked before the age of 15.
"The high rates of HIV documented herein support concerns that sex trafficking may be a significant factor in the expansion of the South Asian HIV epidemic," said the report on the study run by Jay G. Silverman of the Harvard School of Public Health
South Asia is one of the areas worst hit by HIV and AIDS, with some 3.5 million people infected in India alone. The report estimated that some 150,000 girls and women are trafficked each year across the region.
A U.S. State Department report released last month found that India has the world's largest human trafficking problem.
That report estimated that tens of millions of Indians were subjected to forced labor and said sex trafficking was common. It noted the Indian government had taken some steps to combat sex trafficking.