Immunization Newsbriefs (c) Copyright Information Inc., Bethesda, MD. Brought to you by the National Network for Immunization Information (NNii). Visit NNii's new website at http://www.immunizationinfo.org.

------------------------------------------------------------

February 14, 2003

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Experimental AIDS Vaccine Safe for Babies--US Study"

Reuters (www.reuters.com) (02/12/03); Fox, Maggie

Early indicators suggest that ALVAC-HIV vCP205, an experimental AIDS vaccine made by Aventis Pasteur, does not cause side effects in infants born to women infected with HIV, and it may help protect them from becoming infected at all.  Led by Dr. Elizabeth MacFarland of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, researchers tested the vaccine, which is a combination of canary pox, a distant relative of the virus used in the smallpox vaccine, and several proteins from HIV.  Aventis Pasteur's head of research, Jim Tartaglia, says that although none of the babies were tested for HIV, which sometimes can take years to detect, the vaccine did cause an immune response, which suggests that it could be effective in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Vaccination News Home Page

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.