Reported by: Brian Mooar
NBC
Researchers say they may be a step closer to a vaccine for HIV and Aids.
A new vaccine combination tested in Thailand seems to have lowered the rate of infections by more than thirty percent.
That's modest but it's exciting news in a fight that has yielded nothing but defeats.
Clinical trials in Thailand have sent a wave of cautious optimism throughout the medical world.
"Even though it's a very modest effect, it at least proves the concept that it can be done, and our work lies ahead of us," said Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The multi-year study, of 16 thousand people, conducted by the Thai Health Ministry and the U.S. Army, combined two existing drugs.
The result: a thirty-one percent drop in infections.
"When you have a vaccine, you really like to see a vaccine that's sixty, seventy, eighty percent effective - or even more," Fauci said.
Still, after years of failure, this study raises the bar and raises hopes.
"It's been, I guess, 24 years now of sustained efforts to try to develop an aids vaccine. But I don't think we know enough about this to know whether it's really a first step. But it could be," said HIV researcher Michael Lederman at the University Hospitals, Cleveland.
In Washington, DC, where the HIV and aids rate has topped three percent, a ribbon cutting at a new clinic.
Actor Blair Underwood has been raising awareness and money for Aids causes since the 1980s.
"Thirty-eight million people around who are HIV - who have HIV or Aids. Thirty-eight million. So anything that is promising to change that statistic is a good thing," said Underwood.
One study, some modest results and big hopes that researchers are a step closer to beating aids.
Researchers are hoping to learn more about this study next month, at an international conference in Paris.
