| Version | Summary | Created by | Modification | Content Size | Created at | Operation |
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| 1 | Sirius Huang | -- | 2953 | 2022-10-26 01:37:21 |
An HIV vaccine can be either a preventive vaccine or a therapeutic vaccine, which means it can either protect individuals from being infected with HIV or treat HIV-infected individuals. And it can either induce an immune response against HIV (active vaccination approach) or consist of preformed antibodies against HIV (passive vaccination approach). There is currently no licensed HIV vaccine on the market, but multiple research projects are trying to find an effective vaccine. Evidence observed from humans shows that a vaccine may be possible: Some, but certainly not all, HIV-infected individuals naturally produce broadly neutralizing antibodies which keep the virus suppressed, and these people remain asymptomatic for decades. Potential broadly neutralizing antibodies have been cloned in the laboratory (monoclonal antibodies) and are being tested in passive vaccination clinical trials. Many trials have shown no efficacy, but one HIV vaccine regimen, RV 144, has been shown to prevent HIV in some individuals in Thailand. The urgency of the search for a vaccine against HIV stems from the AIDS-related death toll of over 35 million people since 1981. In 2002, AIDS became the primary cause of death due to an infectious agent in Africa. Alternative medical treatments to a vaccine exist. For the treatment of HIV-infected individuals, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) medication has been demonstrated to provide many benefits to HIV-infected individuals, including improved health, increased lifespan, control of viremia, and prevention of transmission to babies and partners. HAART must be taken lifelong without interruption to be effective, and cannot cure HIV. Options for the prevention of HIV infection in HIV-uninfected individuals include safer sex (for example condom use), antiretroviral strategies (pre-exposure prophylaxis and post-exposure prophylaxis) and medical male circumcision. Vaccination has proved a powerful public health tool in vanquishing other diseases, and an HIV vaccine is generally considered as the most likely, and perhaps the only way by which the HIV pandemic can be halted. However, HIV remains a challenging target for a vaccine.