Previous immunity to adenovirus 5 (Ad5), a common cold virus, may explain why volunteers receiving Merck’s preventive HIV vaccine may have been more likely to become infected with HIV than those receiving placebo injections, suggest researchers associated with the international STEP study. The new information was reported yesterday at a special gathering of HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) researchers and community advocates in Seattle.
Ad5 was used in the vaccine being developed by Merck and studied by HVTN. The shell of the virus was used as a vector to deliver pieces of HIV’s genetic material to immune system cells.
According to researchers at the meeting in Seattle, 49 male participants who received the vaccine became infected with HIV, compared with 33 males who received the placebo. There was only one infection among female participants, so they were not included in the post-study analysis. The difference in infections among the men was particularly striking when they looked at participants whose immune systems were strongly reactive to the Ad5 vector: 21 of those vaccine recipients became infected with HIV compared with just 9 who received a placebo.
The researchers cautioned that the numbers are so small and the data so new, that it is way too early to tell whether this trend toward greater HIV susceptibility in the vaccine recipients is real, or merely coincidence. They promised to continue analyzing the data with speed and intensity in hopes of answering this question as soon as possible.
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comments 1 - 3 (of 3 total)
Ala Moana, bronx, NYC, 2007-11-13 22:29:39
Perhaps a prphyllactic vaccine is necessary...one that can be taken, and therefore tested, by people already infected with HIV. It's preferable to infecting healthy people.
Tim Horn, AIDSmeds.com, New York, 2007-11-13 09:04:09
Cesar- Check out of AIDSmeds.com Forums (forums.poz.com) and connect with other HIV-positive people and experts who can can possibly help you with this.
cesar figueroa, brooklyn, n.y., 2007-11-12 19:22:15
I've been pos. since 89 my meds are working for wild but then stop. My T-Cell go up and down v. lo. is in the thousands. I've never been undeteable. What should I do? I've have give up on meds. Write back.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
Woman of the Month is supported by exclusive advertising from Gilead.
Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
