Researchers at the University of Western Ontario announced early this week that they have developed an HIV vaccine (SAV001-H) that shows no adverse effects and boosts production of HIV antibodies. This discovery brings hope to the estimated 34.2 million individuals living with HIV currently (World Health Organization statistics). HIV or Human Immunodeficiency Virus causes acquired immunodeficiency response (AIDS), where the body’s immune system or protection system is slowly destroyed, causing susceptibility to diseases and cancers. As you can see in this figure, as time since infection passes and HIV count increases, the number of CD4+ lymphocytes, an integral part of the body’s immune system, decreases drastically. (Creative Commons License, author: Sigve)
This decrease in lymphocytes causes the body to not only be vulnerable to sicknesses that it could normally fend off easily, it makes it very difficult for the body to fight off the infection. Individuals with HIV eventually succumb to common illnesses due to their inability to fight off infections with a compromised immune system.
According to the World Health Organization, in 2011 alone, there were 1.7 million deaths as a result of HIV/AIDS and since the discovery of HIV in the early 1980’s, over 25 million people have succumbed to this virus. HIV has been described as one of the health epidemics of the 21st century, and rightfully so. Treatments prolong the lifespan of infected individuals, but there is currently no cure for HIV. Dr. Chil-Yong Kang, lead researcher of the team responsible for the development of this vaccine, offers hope in the form of prevention. Vaccines prepare the body for invasion by a specific disease, and boost its immune system so a vaccine for HIV would significantly decrease the number of people affected by HIV.
In an extraordinarily successful Phase I clinical trial on 24 HIV-positive subjects, Dr. Kang not only showed that there were no adverse effects to SAV001-H, he discovered that the level of HIV antibodies increased significantly in the individuals after receiving the vaccine. In one subject, the antibodies increased 32-fold and in another, 10-fold. The significance of the discovery lies in the fact that antibodies for a virus bind to that specific virus and recruit help to destroy it.
Dr. Kang gives an overview of what HIV is, the details of how he developed SAV001-H and the implications of his study in this interview: (attributed to user: AgendaStevePaikin) 
Here, he explains briefly the next steps his team must take before SAV001-H is approved for public use. (attributed to user: WesternUniversity) 
Though there are some years before this vaccine can be administered to the public, if this vaccine is effective, millions of lives could be saved.
-Christie Chan
