An HIV vaccine created by Canadian researchers has just been approved by the FDA for human clinical trials. University of Western Ontario professor and researcher Dr. Chil-Yong Kang stated, “FDA approval for human clinical trials is an extremely significant milestone for our vaccine, which has the potential to save the lives of millions of people around the world by preventing HIV infection.”

Although other types of Human Immunodeficiency Virus vaccines have been tested before, the UWO-created vaccine is the first to use a whole killed virus in the composition of its vaccine. In early testing, the vaccine created a strong immune response, with no adverse effects, the researchers proudly stated.

The vaccine, named SAV001, will now have to undergo the US Food and Drug Administration’s rigorous human trial protocols, starting with phase 1. In January of 2012, the vaccine will be retested for safety on 30 HIV-positive volunteers. After the retest is completed and deemed safe, the researchers will enact the next step in their vaccine’s trials. In phase 2, researchers will examine their subjects’ immune responses to the vaccine. This will involve 600 HIV-negative volunteers. They are taking a huge risk in exposing themselves to the live virus. Phase 3 will continue data collection to determine the efficacy of the vaccine. In this phase they will test it on 6000 high-risk volunteers.

To read the full article, please >Click< here.

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke out Thursday, December 1, for this year’s World AIDS Day, declaring the “beginning of the end of AIDS”, thus renewing America’s commitment to defeat the pandemic that has killed over 30 million people.

In support of his statement Obama declared that the US would be upping their budget allocated for AIDS by $50 million and set a goal of providing antiviral drugs to 2 million people within 2 years. Obama gave hope to his citizens saying, “Who could imagine we would be talking about an AIDS-free generation, because that’s what we are talking about.”

According to the United Nations, over the past decade HIV infections have fell and treatments have risen New infections dropped more than a quarter between 2001 and 2009 across 33 countries, with more than 6.6 million receiving antiretroviral therapy in low and middle-income countries last year compared with just 400, 000 in 2003.

The UN secretary general was quoted stating, “Heading into the fourth decade of AIDS, we are finally in a position to end the epidemic”.

For some this seems just too good to be true; after so many years of suffering and so many lives taken too early, thinking of an actual end to the AIDS epidemic is more pf a dream than an actual reality. But the World Health Organization declared “The tide is turning – the tools to achieve an AIDS-free generation are in out hands”.

The only thing that may threaten this amazing goal and forethought is the looming recession; But officials are still increasing HIV research spending, which comes as a relief to the some 34 million people in this world that are currently living with the HIV/AIDS virus. Globally about half of eligible adults are receiving treatment for AIDS with the most dramatic improvement made in the sub-Saharan Africa, which recorded a 20-per-cent jump in people undergoing treatment between 2009 and 2010.