Scientists have reported a new discovery that provides a promising new direction for developing an effective AIDS vaccine, according to a ChicagoPride item.
Government researchers, led by the National Institutes of Health, have discovered naturally occurring antibodies, VRCO1 and VRCO2, that can neutralize more than 90 percent of known strains of the AIDS virus in a lab setting.
"The discovery of these exceptionally broadly neutralizing antibodies to HIV and the structural analysis that explains how they work are exciting advances that will accelerate our efforts to find a preventive HIV vaccine for global use," said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Despite the development, many HIV researchers and advocates remain cautiously optimistic.
"It's impossible to tell how long we could be from a vaccine, but it's important that research continue on advances that could one day protect people from the virus," Better Existence with HIV ( BEHIV ) Executive Director Eric Nelson told ChicagoPride. "Until then, it's absolutely necessary that people know their status and take steps to protect themselves and their partners. Too many people believe that there is no longer urgency around this issue."
The results were published July 8 in two papers in the online edition of the journal Science, 10 days before the opening of the large International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The United Nations estimated that more than 33 million people around the globe were HIV-positive at the end of 2008, and about 2.7 million individuals contracted the virus that year.