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Trial HIV vaccine cuts infection Trial HIV vaccine cuts infection
(10 minutes later)
An experimental HIV vaccine has cut the risk of infection by nearly a third in a major trial, researchers say.An experimental HIV vaccine has cut the risk of infection by nearly a third in a major trial, researchers say.
The vaccine - a combination of two earlier experimental vaccines - was given to 16,000 people in a joint trial by the Thai government and US military.The vaccine - a combination of two earlier experimental vaccines - was given to 16,000 people in a joint trial by the Thai government and US military.
It reduced by 31% the volunteers' risk of contracting HIV, the virus that leads to Aids.It reduced by 31% the volunteers' risk of contracting HIV, the virus that leads to Aids.
The findings have been described as a significant scientific breakthrough but a worldwide vaccine is some way off.The findings have been described as a significant scientific breakthrough but a worldwide vaccine is some way off.
The study was carried out over seven years on volunteers in some of Thailand's most badly-affected regions. The study was carried out over seven years on volunteers - HIV-negative men and women aged between 18 and 30 - in some of Thailand's most badly-affected regions.
"This is a very important scientific advance and gives us hope that a globally effective vaccine may be possible in the future," Col Jerome Kim of the US military told a news conference in Bangkok. The vaccine was a combination of two older vaccines that on their own had not cut infection rates.
"It is the first demonstration that a vaccine against HIV can protect against infection". Half of the volunteers were given the vaccine, while the other half were given a placebo - and all were given counselling on HIV/Aids prevention.
The results found that the chances of catching HIV were 31.2% less for those who had taken the vaccine.
"This result is tantalisingly encouraging. The numbers are small and the difference may have been due to chance, but this finding is the first positive news in the Aids vaccine field for a decade," said Dr Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet medical journal.
"We should be cautious, but hopeful. The discovery needs urgent replication and investigation."