Aids vaccine gives hope against disease

HIV vaccine 'cuts' infection rates

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An experimental Aids vaccine made from two failed products has protected people for the first time, reducing the rate of infection by about 30 percent.

Developers said they were now debating how to test the limited amounts of vaccine they have left to find out if there are ways to make it work better.

Scientists said they were unsure how or why the vaccines worked when used together in the trial, which took place in Thailand, and will study the volunteers to find out.

All agreed that a commercial product would be years away, but the UN World Health Organisation said the result created new hope that an effective vaccine would eventually be found.

"The result of the study is a very important step for developing an Aids vaccine," Thai health minister Withaya Kaewparadai told a news conference in Bangkok. "It's the first time in the world that we have found a vaccine that can prevent HIV infection."

Activists and researchers alike were thrilled. "The outcome is very exciting news and a significant scientific achievement," said Dr Seth Berkley, chief executive officer of the International Aids Vaccine Initiative, which was not involved in this study.

"It's the first demonstration that a candidate Aids vaccine provides benefit in humans.

The trial was sponsored by the US government and conducted by the Thai Ministry of Public Health. It cut the risk of infection by 31.2 percent among 16,402 volunteers over three years.

The results were a triumph for supporters, who went ahead with the giant trial despite criticism it was unethical or a waste of money because the vaccine was widely expected to have no effect.

The AIDS virus infects an estimated 33 million people globally and has killed 25 million since it was identified in the 1980s. It affects immune cells called T-cells.

Cocktails of drugs can control HIV but there is no cure. In 2007, Merck ended a trial of its vaccine after it was found not to work, and in 2003, AIDSVAX used alone was found to offer no protection, either.

- Reuters