Your daily Selection of IRIN Africa PlusNews reports, 7/8/2003

[Guest guest]

U N I T E D N A T I O N S

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Integrated Regional Information Network

CONTENT:

1 - BOTSWANA: Vaccine trials open officially

1 - BOTSWANA: Vaccine trials open officially

GABORONE, 8 July (PLUSNEWS) - The first trial of an experimental AIDS

vaccine in Southern Africa began this week in Botswana with the enrollment

and injection of the first two volunteers at the Princess Marina hospital

in the capital, Gaborone.

" This study is a significant and hopeful step in Botswana's battle against

the scourge of AIDS, " said Joy Phumaphi, Botswana's Health Minister. " The

volunteers of this trial exemplify the best of the traditional Botswana

values of altruism and selflessness. They are true heroes in this fight

for our country's future. "

The research is a joint initiative by the Ministry of Health and the

Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership (BHP), established in 1996 by

the Botswana Government and the Harvard AIDS Institute. Phase 1 of the

trials, currently being conducted, is open to individuals between the ages

of 21 and 40, who are in general good health, HIV negative, available for

18 months, not pregnant and intending to remain so during the course of

testing.

BHP hope approximately 14 HIV-negative volunteers, from an initial group

of 30 Batswana participating so far, will be enrolled. Potential

volunteers continue to be screened.

The experimental vaccine is composed of a non-infectious component of

HIV's genetic material. " These components do not cause infection, so there

is no chance that trial volunteers could get HIV infection from receiving

the experimental vaccine, " said ph Makhema, BHP Co-Director and Senior

Clinical Research Manager.

During the study, side effects will be examined to determine the vaccine's

safety at three different dosages, and the body's immune response.

The vaccine was developed by Epimmune, a company based in San Diego,

California. The BHP HIV Reference Laboratory is an ultramodern research

facility that is also helping to build Botswana’s professional capacity by

training the nation's future researchers and technicians.

BHP is designed to identify opportunities for collaborative research, as

well as pursue education activities in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

" The government of Botswana deserves recognition for the creation of the

BHP laboratory and the capacity it has built with trained staff,

state-of-the-art equipment and Botswana-specific research, " noted Dr Max

Essex, BHP Chairman. " Botswana stands ready to conduct not only this

study, but other important HIV research. It is important to stress that

the road to a successful vaccine is long, and that this phase 1 trial is a

first step for Botswana on that road. "

[ENDS]

[This Item is Delivered to the English Service of the UN's IRIN

humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views

of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or

to change your keywords, contact e-mail: Irin@... or Web:

http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post

this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by

commercial sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003

IRIN Contacts:

IRIN-Asia

Tel: +92-51-2211451

Fax: +92-51-2292918

Email: IrinAsia@...

To make changes to or cancel your subscription visit:

http://www.irinnews.org/subscriptions

Subscriber: AIDS treatments