Your daily Selection of IRIN Africa PlusNews reports, 10/5/2004

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

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Integrated Regional Information Network

[These reports do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

CONTENT:

1 - SOUTH AFRICA: Vaccine research struggles to find trial participants

2 - UGANDA: Global fund gives $70 million for ARVs

1 - SOUTH AFRICA: Vaccine research struggles to find trial participants

DURBAN, 5 October (PLUSNEWS) - South African HIV vaccine research efforts

are being threatened by the low number of people willing to participate in

trials, said the Medical Research Council (MRC).

According to researchers from the MRC in the port city of Durban, the fear

of stigma and discrimination from their communities prevented people from

taking part in the trials. The country began conducting vaccine trials in

November 2003.

The stringent eligibility criteria also saw many potential study

participants being rejected.

Although more than 400 people have attended the MRC's HIV vaccine

information sessions in the past two years, only 90 have returned for the

screening process - a medical check-up that establishes eligibility. Of

these 90, only 18 have been enrolled in Phase I vaccine trials. The MRC

has managed to find a further 30 eligible candidates during the past

twelve months.

Eighteen volunteers is the minimum amount required to proceed with the

trials at the Durban site, as the first phase needs a small number of

participants. But the vaccine trials could be at risk if the existing

participants drop out.

The MRC's HIV Vaccine Research Unit, based in Durban and the Perinatal HIV

Research Unit at the Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto,

Johannesburg are the only two trial sites. Two more sites are expected to

start vaccine testing in the next few months.

Despite ongoing education campaigns, misconceptions and myths about the

trials and the vaccine present another obstacle. A large number of people

believed they could be infected with the HI virus by being inoculated with

a test vaccine, researchers said.

Such fears were unfounded, " as no live viruses are injected, " explained

MRC senior clinical research nurse Armstrong Makhofola. " The replicating

parts of the virus are removed, so that the virus is like a car without a

motor. "

Dr , head of the MRC HIV Vaccine Unit, said: " At no stage

is any participant exposed to infection through the vaccine. Only copies

of small fragments of the virus are used in the vaccine. "

The stigma associated with joining an HIV vaccine trial remains the

biggest challenge. Lebo Mthembu from Glenmore in Durban decided to become

involved in vaccine research after her younger sister died from an

AIDS-related illness in 1998 but, once her community discovered she was

participating in HIV vaccine trials, she was discriminated against and

many suspected her to be HIV-positive, she told PlusNews.

Many willing volunteers also do not meet the stringent eligibility

criteria, such as belonging to a certain age group, being in good health,

having a good level of education, being HIV-negative and at low risk of

contracting HIV, as well as not planning a pregnancy in the near future,

said Makhofola.

Phase I trials in Durban and Soweto will end in mid-2005. These results

will dictate whether the research can move into its second and third

phases, explained . If all three phases of the trials are

successful, South Africa could have an effective HIV vaccine by 2014.

The main objective of Phase I trials is to test the safety of the vaccine

prototype. They will also determine its possible side effects. " There

could be risks that we are [still] unaware of, " admitted.

Despite being in the early stages of the first phase of trials, " so far,

the [test] vaccine appears to have strengthened immune response, " he said.

The candidate-vaccine had also not shown any unexpected side effects so

far, added.

The next phase will focus on maintaining the safety level of the vaccine,

as well as finding the best dosage and method of administering the

vaccine. The third phase involves tens of thousands of participants to

assess whether the vaccine prevents natural infection from HIV.

A successful HIV vaccine will teach the body to recognise the virus and

record the information on how to defeat the virus in the immune system's

memory. The vaccine will prevent HIV infection by neutralising the virus

with antibodies and a cellular immune response.

[ENDS]

2 - UGANDA: Global fund gives $70 million for ARVs

KAMPALA, 4 October (PLUSNEWS) - The Ugandan government's efforts to scale

up anti-retroviral (ARVs) drugs to cater for about 120,000 people living

with HIV/AIDS, received a boost with the donation on Friday of US $70.35

million dollars from the Global Fund on Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The funds will also help the East African country offer assistance to

orphans and vulnerable children, according to government officials.

" The government of Uganda has signed an agreement with the Global Fund for

AIDS, TB and Malaria in which the fund will provide a grant of US $70.35

to procure anti-retroviral drugs and provide assistance to the orphans and

vulnerable children, " a statement by the finance ministry said.

The funds, it added, would among others be used on activities to prevent

the spread of the HIV virus, educate orphans, provide money to people

living with HIV/AIDS and monitor drug resistance to ARVs.

Over 40 percent of the funds will be used to procure health and non-health

products from outside the country, according to the statement. About one

million people are infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS, while

almost a similar number have died since the disease was first diagnosed

some 22 years ago.

Some 120,000 Ugandans are currently in need of ARVs, but only 25,000 have

access to these lifesavers. Uganda has, in the past three years, received

some $290 million dollars from the fund that was created to finance a

dramatic turn-around in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

The country has had considerable success in reducing HIV infection rates

from 30 percent in the early 1990s to below 6 percent currently. But it is

still confronted with a serious problems due to the epidemic, including

rising numbers of people needing care and support, including orphans.

[ENDS]

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