Two experimental vaccines against the HIV virus are to be tested in Uganda, the government-owned ‘New Vision’ reported on Wednesday. It quoted the resident of the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), Seth Berkley, as saying that test preparations would begin immediately and that the first volunteers would receive the vaccinations by early next year. The vaccines have been developed using research into the physiology of Kenyan prostitutes, who remain HIV negative despite repeatedly being exposed to the virus, according to the report. The vaccines have been tailored to the virus sub-type prevalent in Uganda, it added. Berkley also emphasised the need for increased efforts to prevent spread of the disease. “Until we test [the vaccine] we don’t know if it works and people have to continue doing everything to avoid infection,” the paper quoted him as saying.
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