Zimbabwe: Researchers claim Aids vaccine breakthrough

Researchers have made a breakthrough in the search for a vaccine that could protect people from acquiring HIV after preliminary studies on monkeys showed a 50 percent chance of protection against the virus. Speaking at the 13th Aids Vaccine Conference under way in Barcelona, Spain yesterday, researcher Dr Louis Picker from the Oregon Health and Science University, US, said this time he was confident that the vaccine could also work in humans as well. “The stars are aligned and we feel we have a very good shot,” said Dr Picker. This new vaccine was made from modifying another virus with just enough Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) to be able to trigger an immune response in the monkeys’ immune system. SIV is a virus which affects monkeys in a similar way HIV affects humans by destroying the immune system thereby making the body prone to any disease. Scientists report that the SIV is 100 times...