Vaccines, virucides and drugs against HIV/AIDS: hopes and optimisms for the future.
More than 25 million lives have been claimed by AIDS and 33.2 million people are estimated to have HIV, the majority of which are living in the underdeveloped countries. Failed tests on vaccines, virucides and complete virus eradication have caused scientists to refocus on the basic questions of what makes an effective HIV immune response. The "gloom" over disappointing research results on vaccine development and virucides "threatens to overshadow more positive" HIV/AIDS-related news, such as findings that male circumcision might reduce the likelihood of HIV transmission and that giving antiretroviral drugs to "high-risk" HIV-negative people (pre-exposure prophylaxis) could help protect them from infection. Something like pre-exposure prophylaxis has a good chance of becoming available before we have a 100% efficacious vaccine. The future in the field of HIV/AIDS will be much brighter if global research is appropriately coordinated and sufficient funds are available.
Al-Jabri
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Immunology Unit, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 35, PC: 123, Muscat, Oman. aaljabri@squ.edu.om
Alenzi
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