Scientists around the world are looking for a vaccine
Posted on 09/06/2001 1:38:50 PM PDT by Lanman
 I'm optimistic that the candidates that we are testing today will be able to provide a level of immunity  |
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David Baltimore
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Most of the delegates are scientists.They say they are more hopeful than ever that a vaccine will be found, as they learn more about the human immune system.
David Baltimore, one of the conference organisers, told the BBC he was "optimistic, in a way that I wasn't a couple of years ago" that vaccines being tested now "will be able to provide a level of immunity and that will make a difference, both in the United States and abroad".
There are many potential vaccines in the pipeline, but much research is still needed to test their effectiveness and safety.
Focus on Africa
Also attending the forum is the president of Rwanda, Paul Kigame, who is telling the delegates about the devastating effects of Aids on African countries.
 Africa has been very badly hit
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Speaking at the UN conference on racism in Durban, South Africa, he said if the epidemic had centred on Europe, rather than Africa, and had affected predominantly white people, the response to it would have been faster and more generous.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame
explains why he is attending the conference
Don't blame the rest of the world for the shortcomings of the governments in Africa in recognizing the epidemic too late.
I for one, will not take it.
Well!! That didn't take long. Now if we can get to work on that little minor problem
Not so. Tuberculosis, for example, is tested for that way, and guess what? It is evidence that your other comments are absolutely correct.
Yep, you're right, giving ANY vaccine builds antibodies (that's its purpose, after all) and yep, if you're testing for antibodies you'll pop positive even if you've never been exposed to the actual etiological agent. There is another test for HIV, virus titer, which is an actual count of viral bodies present in body fluids, and it it MUCH more time-consuming and expensive than the antibody test. Far too much so to imagine it replacing that test in third-world countries, for example.
HIV is a toughie for a vaccine because the virus attacks the body's very mechanism for producing the antibodies that the vaccine is trying to increase. I hope they do succeed, but it's a formidable problem. Nor would I necessarily take David Baltimore's word for it - he, after all, is the guy who tried to claim credit for isolating HIV (he called it HTLV), instead of the French fellow who actually did isolate it at the Pasteur Institute. Baltimore's much more at home at the Durban racism congress than in a laboratory, IMHO.
Speaking at the UN conference on racism in Durban, South Africa, he said if the epidemic had centred on Europe, rather than Africa, and had affected predominantly white people, the response to it would have been faster and more generous.
This is the kind of moronic statement which is exposing the true motivation of the "anti-racism" movement.
Would the U.S. mobilize to fight an epidemic within the U.S. more vigorously than one in Africa (or Asia or Europe)? I would hope so.
Has African leadership been criminally negligent in the handling of AIDS within African nations? Most have, with a few exceptions.
Can AIDS be prevented/minimized by behavior modification? Indeed, yes.
Is the white man forcing the cultural behaviors on African society which are causing the widespread dissemination of the virus? No.
Will whining of life's losers stop because there is no rational basis for it? Sadly, no.
OOOOoooo. Such a brave man.
Guess I need new glasses.
That would be you.
Will the antibodies produced as a result of the vaccine will be evidence of a worse HIV infection not the reverse?
Short Answer: no.
Long Answer: OF COURSE NOT.
You're with the "HIV doesn't cause AIDS" group, right? If not I apologize, I really can't stand those people.
You're thinking of Robert Gallo, the so-called "Pope of AIDS." Baltimore has had his own brush with controversy and allegations of scientific misconduct, but they don't pertain to AIDS.
Well I am one of them too but I am also willing to learn. Can you point me to sources on the net where I can find:
1. Photos of the HIV virus.
2. The best technical article that proves the case that HIV infection is the, make that THE, cause of AIDS.
Give me the pointers, I'll be glad to do the research.
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