A Vaccine for HIV maybe on the horizon by 2030
HIV is Inevitable. It’s hard to believe that it has been 35 years since the first appearance of HIV in the US. It has claimed millions upon millions of people thus far. There is still a staggering number of people out there that are infected with this crippling disease. Everyone wants, wish, or even dream of a Cure, but a Vaccine could be a within reach in the near future. Through Money, Research and Development, we are sure to see a big changed in HIV by 2030. Predicted by Bills Gates (Business Insiders 2015). Understanding what we’ve learn from our past, and new ways on the developmental path for a vaccine; could be a game changer for a possible Vaccine for HIV yet to come. With our current statistic in front of us, we need to Act Now! This Movement & Progression for a vaccine could be a true reality.
First: HIV: The Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a lentivirus. It’s subgroup of retrovirus that causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome AIDS. A condition in humans that progressively lead to failure of the immune system. Without proper treatment, an average survival time after infection with The Human Immunodeficiency Virus is estimated to be around 9 to 11 years. We’ve learnt that infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of blood, semen, vaginal fluid, pre-ejaculate, or breast milk. HIV infects our T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells. With infection present, viral killing of infected cells demonstrate low counts of
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection is a long-term (chronic) viral infection. HIV kills white blood cells that help to control the body's defense system (immune system) and fight infection. HIV spreads through semen, pre-seminal fluid, blood, breast milk, rectal fluid, and vaginal fluid. HIV is commonly spread through sexual contact and sharing needles or syringes, because these behaviors involve exchanging bodily fluids. Without treatment, HIV can turn into AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), an advanced stage of HIV infection. AIDS is a very serious illness and can be life-threatening.
As stated by Dr. N.A.S, finding a vaccine has been incredibly challenging due to the astonishing genetic diversity of the virus. While it is true that the genome of two HIV infected individuals can differ by up to 30%,6 it is not the integrase enzyme that causes this huge difference in the genomes as written by Dr. N.A.S. Reverse transcriptase is the error prone enzyme that makes multiple mistakes while copying RNA into DNA, which results in ~1 mutation in every new virus.6 The advantage of mutations for HIV is that these new changes are not
HIV is a life changing virus that cannot be reversed. It can be spread by “semen, vagina fluids, breast milk, or amniotic fluid”. This virus is a vicious virus that harms and fights the body immune system. The immune system is the body’s healing system that fights off diseases. With a weak immune system, one is more likely to become infected with diseases and illnesses. There is treatment to help aid the symptoms of HIV, but unfortunately there is no prevention vaccine for HIV.
Since the discovery of the HIV virus in 1983, there have been many precautions taken to control and prevent the spreading of this deadly disease. Helen Epstein, who is the author of “AIDS Inc,” informs her readers about the sexually transmitted disease known as the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Epstein enlightens her audience with crucial information in regards to the ruthless disease that is devouring the lives of innocent people, typically in Africa, where people are especially prone to acquiring AIDS. South Africa, having one of the highest amounts of rape crimes in the world, is also home to the highest amount of people living with HIV in the world, at about
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is serious public health problem worldwide. HIV weakens a person’s immune system by infecting the body’s T cells. ("About HIV/AIDS | HIV Basics | HIV/AIDS | CDC", 2016) HIV also attacks and kills CD4 white blood cells, which play an important role in protecting the body from infections. ("Immune System 101", 2016)
A promising vaccine to combat HIV epidemic seems need to wait a lit bit longer since the desired result of HIV vaccine development in Iowa State University (ISU) found to be a fraudulent. Office of Research Integrity (ORI) and ISU found that the Dr. Dong-Pyou Han, former Research Assistant Professor, engaged in research misconduct in this research by intentionally spiked samples of rabbit sera with human antibody. 1-5 It falsified the result that a vaccine developed was protecting the rabbits against the HIV virus. 1-5 Due to this case, Dong-Pyou Han was not only forced to resign from ISU but also sentenced to 57 months in prison with fined US$ 7.2 million.
In 1985, over 10,000 cases of AIDS were reported worldwide (White and Fenner 1986). Just over a decade later, in 1998, the Global AIDS Policy Coalition estimated that 30.6 million people were infected with HIV worldwide. It has also been projected that by the year 2000, between 40 and 70 million adults will be infected with HIV (New Generation Vaccines 1997). Over 90% of all HIV-1 infected individuals live in developing nations: 50% in Southeast Asia and 40% in sub-Saharan Africa. However, even with all of these alarming statistics and projections, there is hope for the future of humanity. This hope is a potential anti-AIDS vaccine. An anti-AIDS vaccine is the best bet. Among other factors, the large costs associated with therapeutic
weakened virus that has been synthetically prepared. Further work on a HIV vaccine could save many lives
The most fundamental question to ask about an HIV vaccine is: 'What evidence exists that protection against disease after exposure to HIV is possible?' The best evidence for successful protection against a virulent primate lentivirus such as HIV is that monkeys are almost always protected against challenge with pathogenic SiVmac after vaccination with an attenuated (ne/-deleted) SIVmac
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a virus that cause initial HIV infection and, as the virus proliferates in the body, AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). HIV affects the immune system by exploiting, and, eventually, destroying a specific kind of immune cells. That allows for the gradual deterioration of a person’s immune system, which ultimately causes death from minor opportunistic infections, which are normally perfectly curable and generally do not cause major consequences for health. HIV has a limited range of transmission ways. It is only transmitted through the direct contact of body fluids, which include blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk [1]. This means that most of the modes of transmission include activities that are moralized by society, such as intravenous drug use and sexual contact [1]. However, it can also be transmitted through “innocent pathways”, such as during breastfeeding (mother to child) and blood transfusion. HIV is a very young, still poorly understood virus. It was first clinically observed in the summer of 1981 in San Francisco, where it was spotted as a type of sarcoma, mostly spotted in the gay population. In the beginning of the global epidemic, there was a huge misunderstanding of the disease [2]. Back then, a general sentiment about HIV was that of a “rather devastating outbreak” [2] , associated with homosexuality and drug use (to the point
Every year, there are more and more people living with HIV. While the number of new cases has decreased, the overall prevalence has increased. In 2014, 36.9 million people were living with HIV. However, in 2001 the number was lower, at 29.8 million [1]. These numbers have caused me to agree with Dr. Not A Scientist need to invest more funds toward developing a HIV vaccine. Although I agree with Dr. Not A Scientist’s position in the Op-ed, there were many scientific errors found that should be addressed.
HIV is a disease which eventually kills ones immune system, and as time progresses it leads to AIDS. When the HIV enters a human, it attaches itself to a CD4 receptor and continues to enter the T-Cell. It then reprograms the cell to produce more HIV using the enzyme, reverse transcriptase. The HIV then leaves the host cell, but kills it before it leaves. Then, the HIV cells attach their selves to new T cells, and infect those as well. After about 12 weeks, the HIV antibodies appear in the humans blood stream. The disease starts off with a fever, sweats, headache, sore throats and enlarged lymph nodes. Once the CD4 cell count decreases to 200 um, AIDS gets developed and the low T count cell lowers ones immune system. Then, the
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that destroys the immune system which protects the body against disease and infection. The human body cannot fight disease if the immune system is weak. When a person is infected with HIV, the virus stays in the body forever. There is no cure for HIV but the medications help to control the disease. The human immune system is made weak by destroying important cells that fight pathogens. HIV is a retrovirus. It is a virus spread through certain body fluids that attack the body’s immune system known as CD4 cells or T-cells. This kind of virus when not penetrating a cell has the ability to store the genetic information on a single-stranded RNA molecule in place of the double–stranded DNA, but when penetrating a cell, the retrovirus can make a DNA version of its genes. This DNA becomes part of the disease spreading genetic material in the cell. HIV takes a long time to cause damage in the human body and therefore classified as lentiviruses.
There has been countless number of efforts to develop an effective gene transfer approach to treat HIV-1 infections globally. Many transgenes have been identified to inhibit in vitro HIV-1 infections. As drug resistant HIV-1 is increasingly common even with patients receiving HAART, designing drug treatment methods have been challenging. Therefore, investigation into new therapeutic approaches should continue. Gene delivery plays an important supporting role developing potential therapies directed towards HIV-1 infections. The goals of the anti-HIV-1 gene therapy are to deliver transgenes to directly susceptible cells, Immunize against HIV-1 antigens, inhibit HIV-1 proliferation in target organs, and deliver to Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells. Delivering transgenes to susceptible cells will make them resistant to HIV-1 infections and inhibit viral replication. When CCR5 a major coreceptor for HIV was disrupted in the “Berlin Patient” led to the revival of gene therapy. The naturally occurring CCR5-Δ32 mutation that results in a frameshift mutation dislocates the CCR5 expression on the cell surface. The “Berlin patient” who was HIV+ patient with lymphoma was transplanted with bone marrow from a donor with CCR5-Δ32 mutation and became ‘cured’ of HIV. But as only a small general population with CCR5-Δ32 mutation can be identified alternative methods must be identified for gene therapy.
The immunopathogenesis of HIV is known to a greater extent than that of many other infectious diseases for which a vaccine exists. Thus, the question arises as to why an HIV vaccine still does not exist. The United States and other industrialized nations “have a comparative advantage in creating incentive for HIV vaccine research and. . .doing to would be in their own self interest, as well as the interest of developing countries” (World Bank 268).