AEGiS-Bangkok Post: Volunteers still hope for success in trial: Critics grow amid lack of interest, delay

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Volunteers still hope for success in trial: Critics grow amid lack of interest, delay

Bangkok Post - Sunday, July 4, 2004
Apiradee Treerutkuarkul

Aids advocates and volunteers are still hopeful the world's largest human trial of a potential vaccine for HIV/Aids in Thailand will cut the number of patients infected with the virus.

A 29-year-old volunteer who calls herself Nan was the first person to take part in the Prime-Boost HIV Vaccine Phase III Trial soon after its launch last year. Her elder sister, who died of Aids, and negative attitudes toward her family persuaded her to apply. ``I do hope the vaccine trial will be successful although it may be not for people of our age but for the generation to come," she said.

About 10 friends of hers in Rayong's Ban Chang district also volunteered.

Nan is one of 6,000 volunteers in the trial programme. All volunteers aged 20 to 30 live in Rayong or Chon Buri. About 3,080 have been getting injections of the vaccine comprising a cocktail of a canary pox vaccine Alvac and a synthesised combination of the B and E sub-types of the Aids virus (Aidsvax).

The B subtype of Aids is common among intravenous drug users, while the E subtype is mainly transmitted sexually. Half the 16,000 volunteers would receive four doses of the trial vaccine over six months, with the rest getting placebo injections.

Unlike Nan and her friends, most people at the clinical trial site are sceptical about progress. The project previously aimed to take on up to 16,000 people after six months of screening, but so far they have recruited less than a third of the goal. The shortfall has delayed the project for at least another year, says Supachai Rerk-ngarm, principal investigator of the Disease Control Department.

Charal Trinvuthipong, the department director-general, insisted the trial would go ahead and the department was confident about the trial's scientific merits which would cut the number of people newly infected with the virus, to less than 21,000 cases a year. Bangkok senator Jon Ungpakorn said he was worried about a lack of information on the trial and the weakness of the campaign.
040704
BP040702

AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation and donations from users like you.

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2004. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .