HIV and Aids affect roughly 37 million people worldwide, with 1.8 million new cases each year. While a lot of work and money have gone into developing cures and vaccines, neither has come to fruition mostly because of the sheer number of strains. However, a recent BBC article contained hopeful news of a promising new “mosaic” vaccine that is comprised of multiple pieces of different HIV viruses.
The mosaic vaccine was tested on nearly 400 participants from the US, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, and Thailand. Each person received four vaccinations over 48 weeks, and all vaccine combinations produced an anti-HIV immune response and were found to be safe. The researchers will next test the vaccine on 2,600 women in southern Africa who are high-risk for contracting the illness.
