Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association - November 14, 2007
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang on Wednesday invited researchers who worked on the Phambili study to her office in Pretoria to explain the reasons why the vaccine trial was stopped.
She complained that they had not informed her of the suspension of the trial and that she had had to find out about it in the media.
She also blamed the media for not writing enough about the vaccine trials.
The trial in South Africa of the experimental vaccine was put on hold in September and then suspended in October after trials in the United States showed signs that the vaccine somehow raised the risk of infection.
SA researchers were still waiting for 67 of the 799 people who took part in the study to return to the sites where they received the shot to be tested, before they could decide if similar results were found in SA.
It could take six weeks for the results after the last person has been tested, said Professor Glenda Gray of the prenatal HIV unit at Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital, the national principal investigator for the Phambili trial.
Pending the outcome of the research on why the vaccine in the US had raised the risk of contracting HIV and whether or not this was the case in SA, all vaccine trials in the country have been put on hold.
Professor Anthony Mbewu, president of the Medical Research Council, said there were no trials at the moment but two trials due to start early next year would be affected.
"We are committed to research, but it can not be research at all costs," Tshabalala-Msimang said.
The Phambili study -- or HVTN 503 as it was known in research circles -- began enrolling participants in January this year.
Since then 799 people had been enrolled and 55 were fully immunised.
They would be told who had received the vaccine and who had received the placebo.
The study was conducted at five sites in Soweto, Cape Town, Klerksdorp, Pretoria and Durban.
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