Kenya, together with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and US National Institute of Health, has launched a new HIV vaccine trial in the capital, Nairobi.
According to the local East African Standard newspaper, the vaccine is designed to protect uninfected people from contracting the HI virus, but will also be monitored for its ability to stimulate immune responses in respondents.
"This marks an important step in the battle to stop the spread of the AIDS pandemic," said Health Minister Charity Ngilu.
Unlike previous vaccines, which only targeted the HIV strain or subtype A, the latest vaccine candidate is designed to prevent infection from any of three sub-types: A, B, and C.
Almost 65 percent of all HIV infections in Kenya and Sub-Saharan Africa are subtype A; C is predominant in Southern Africa and India, with B circulating mostly in America, Japan, Australia, the Caribbean and Europe.
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