HIV Vaccines
Before the discovery of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), acquired immunodeficiency syndrome – the final stage of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection – spelled cancers and death. HIV destroys a type of white blood cell, the CD4+ T cell, which leaves the body vulnerable to other opportunistic infections and complications. Human challenges and triumphs in the age of AIDS are now embedded in our collective memories and captured in 2016 statistics from the World Health Organization. AIDS deaths have declined by 47% since 2005, according to a Los Angeles Times Article. Additionally, more than half of the 36.7 million people across the globe that are living with HIV (in 2016) are also receiving ART. This points to the transformation of an often-fatal disease into a chronic condition. Today, only 1.1 million people in the USA are estimated to be infected with HIV. However, 1 in 7 Americans do not know their HIV status. Moreover, global treatment gains have been offset by knowledge of geographic “hot spots,” gender gaps in terms of access and care, delays in starting treatment, variable adherence ART, and the development of resistance to drugs. Even if an implicit public health goal of containing clinical sequelae in every HIV-infected individual is accomplished, the burden of exposure to years of ART may take a long-term socioeconomic toll on each patient. Therefore, researchers continue to search for ways to aid the public in the prevention of getting HIV/AIDS in the first place or, failing that, to facilitate a timely cure. One strategy in a multipronged public health program against the stealth pathogen continues to be the development of preventive/therapeutic vaccines. Currently, there are no approved HIV vaccines, but promising research is underway. Sources: 1. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/overview/ataglance.html) 2. World Health Organization 3. Los Angeles Times
