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Oxford researchers launch HIV vaccine trial

Oxford researchers launch HIV vaccine trial

  • Scientists at the University of Oxford have started vaccinations of a novel HIV vaccine candidate as part of a Phase I clinical trial in UK.
  • The goal of the trial is to evaluate the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of the HIVconsvX vaccine
  • HIVconsvX vaccine is a mosaic vaccine targeting a broad range of HIV-1 variants, making it potentially applicable for HIV strains in any geographical region.

What is HIV?

  • HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system.
  • If HIV is not treated, it can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
  • Untreated HIV affects and kills CD4 cells, which are a type of immune cell called T cell.
  • Over time, as HIV kills more CD4 cells, the body is more likely to get various types of conditions and cancers.
  • Because HIV inserts itself into the DNA of cells, it’s a lifelong condition and currently there’s no drug that eliminates HIV from the body
  • HIV is transmitted through bodily fluids that include:
  1. Blood
  2. Semen
  3. Vaginal and rectal fluids
  4. Breast milk
  • The virus isn’t transferred in air or water, or through casual contact.
  • If AIDS does develop, it means that the immune system is severely compromised, that is, weakened to the point where it can no longer successfully respond against most diseases and infections.
  • The pace of decline in new HIV infections failed to reach the Fast-Track Target agreed upon by the United Nations General Assembly in 2016: fewer than 500,000 new infections per year in 2020.

How would HIVconsvX work?

  • Most HIV vaccine candidates work by inducing antibodies generated by B-cells.
  • However, HIVconsvX induces the immune system’s potent, pathogen obliterating T cells, targeting them to highly conserved and therefore vulnerable regions of HIV

India and HIV:

  • NACO is the nodal organization for National AIDS response under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
  • National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) was launched in 1992 and is being implemented as a comprehensive programme for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in India.
  • National AIDS Control Programme is a fully funded Central Sector Scheme implemented through State/ UT AIDS Control Societies (SACS)

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