Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Fides Service) - A vaccine to prevent the mother/child transmission of the HIV/AIDS virus during breast feeding has been produced by researchers at Rome’s Tor Vergata University in collaboration with health centres in three African countries Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Ivory Coast. The vaccine is now ready for clinical testing .
“Very often babies are born HIV negative - immunologist Vittorio Colizzi, said when he presented the Masters Transferring Biomedicine Technology to developing countries at Tor Vergata University - thanks to drugs given to the mother during pregnancy and treatment to mother and child immediately after birth, but they then run the risk of being infected during breast feeding”.
Hence the need to produce a paediatric vaccine to reduce the danger of transmission of the virus in the first months of life. The plan is to give the vaccine to the child only once on the first day of life together with the TB vaccine and it will be immediately possible to see the results by testing the child for HIV/AIDS at the end of breastfeeding, that is within six months .
At present steps are being taken to see if it is possible to produce the vaccine locally. The aim is to produce a vaccine which is entirely African, suited to prevent specific African types of the virus and at an acceptable cost. (AP) (16/4/2004 Agenzia Fides; Righe:20 Parole:219)
