The first large-scale trial of an AIDS vaccine is getting under
way in South Africa, the home of two-thirds of the world's
population of HIV-infected individuals. Researchers say the
vaccine has shown promise in earlier studies, but in the Africa
trial, they are most interested in learning whether the drug
prevents spread of the disease in different parts of the world.
VOA's Jessica Berman explains. The trial is being conducted at
five centers in South Africa, a country with more than five
million people infected with the AIDs virus. Three-thousand
uninfected people are being recruited for participation in the
four-year study. All of the volunteers will be counseled about
how to prevent HIV, but investigators want to see whether those
who get the vaccine, as opposed to those who get a dummy
solution called a placebo, remain uninfected. The trial is being
coordinated by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in
Seattle, Washington. John Kublin is one of the study's lead
investigators. Kublin says the vacci