"HIV vaccine 'reduces infection'" -7

"HIV vaccine 'reduces infection'"
BBC World News. Retrieved at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8272113.stm

For over seven years, a vaccine for HIV was being tested in Thailand for over 16,000 people. The vaccine was found to have reduced the risk of contracting HIV by nearly one third. The vaccine is a combination of two previous experimental vaccines, and has been hailed as an important, scientific breakthrough, even though no global vaccine has come out. The study was done in Thailand to HIV-negative men and women between the ages of 18 and 30. The two previous vaccines separated did nothing to cut the infection rate, whereas when they were put together, that’s when scientists started to notice a difference. Half of the study group was given the vaccine and the other half was given a placebo, and every six months for about three years they were to come back and get tested for HIV. 74 of the placebo subjects were infected and 51 of the vaccine subjects were infected. One said that the news was encouraging, since they have not had good news in the Aids vaccine field in over a decade. Even though it was very good news for the scientists, they still must be cautious and completely study through this new find and bring hope to the world.