HIV vaccine trials in developing countries

Only twenty years after it was described, AIDS has become the most important infectious disease, the leading cause of death in Africa, and the fourth cause of death worldwide. A safe, effective and accessible preventive vaccine is our best long-term hope to control the pandemic. The first Phase I trial of an HIV vaccine was conducted in the United States in 1987. Since then, more than 30 candidate vaccines have been tested in more than 60 phase I/II clinical trials, involving more than 8000 healthy human volunteers. The majority of these trials have been conducted in the United States and Europe, however trials have also been conducted in developing countries (Brazil, China, Cuba, Haiti, Kenya, Thailand, and Uganda), including an ongoing phase III efficacy trial of a gp120 candidate vaccine in Thailand. The effort to develop and evaluate HIV vaccines must increase, especially in Africa.