Earthsky Interviews
Private: Vaccine “holy grail” of AIDS research
06-06-2006 - Human World
_JB: But researchers say they need better weapons in the fight against AIDS:_ a vaccine to prevent the disease.
_Anthony Fauci:_ The holy grail that people talk about obviously is a vaccine which has been one of the most problematic scientific issues that we have faced.
_DB:_ That’s “Anthony Fauci”:http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/about/directors/biography/, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He said an AIDS vaccine would provide uninfected people with immunity. Researchers around the world – including Fauci – have worked for years on an AIDS vaccine. But it hasn’t been easy.
_Anthony Fauci:_ It isn’t a logistic obstacle, it’s that we don’t really fully understand, and might not ever, why this virus does not elicit an immune response that ultimately turns out to be protective. The body does not handle HIV very well. The immune system does not seem to have the capability of eliminating or suppressing this virus the way it does with virtually every other viral disease.
_JB:_ Fauci says he’s cautiously optimistic that researchers will eventually find a vaccine for HIV/AIDS. But he said the work could take several years, and the AIDS vaccine might not be as effective as traditional vaccines. Meanwhile, according to experts, the AIDS epidemic has become the most deadly in human history. We’re Block and Byrd for “Earth & Sky”:/http://208.96.63.114/.
Radio: “AIDS ‘worst epidemic world has ever known’”:http://208.96.63.114/?p=2326, from Earth & Sky.
Visit the “AIDS Vaccine Site”:http://www.niaid.nih.gov/daids/vaccine/, from NIAID.
Anthony Fauci is Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – a major government body in the U.S. that carries out AIDS research.. Read his “biography”:http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/about/directors/biography/, from NIAID.
See the faces of the AIDS epidemic. The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and Christian Aid, presents photo stories of people living with HIV and AIDS in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. “Voices of hope: stories from communities affected by HIV and AIDS”:http://www.who.int/hiv/photostories/en/index.html.
For a comprehensive report on the status of the global AIDS epidemic, read “AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2005″:http://www.who.int/hiv/pub/epidemiology/epiupdate2005/en/index.html, from the World Health Organization.
For a good collection of news stories about AIDS, read the special themed section “AIDS/HIV”:http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/aids/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier, from New York Times.
Watch “videos”:http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/od/mmwr/20years_video.htm from the CDC about the early years of the AIDS epidemic.
For a good description of how AIDS was first discovered and how the public and the medical community responded in the first few years, read “The 20th Anniversary”:http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=4944, from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
For a biography of Kevin De Cock, visit “Dr. Kevin De Cock starts as the New HIV/AIDS Director at WHO”:http://www.who.int/hiv/mediacentre/news59/en/index.html.
The last big breakthrough in AIDS treatment was about 10 years ago when scientists discovered that a so-called ?drug cocktail? of multiple antiviral drugs could suppress HIV – the AIDS virus. The new drugs extended people’s lives by years. These drugs turned AIDS into a manageable disease – manageable in a similar way to diabetes or heart disease. That’s of course, if you can afford those drugs. Many in the developing world simply can’t afford them.
Our thanks to:
Dr. Anthony Fauci
Director
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Bethesda, Maryland