Hiv Vaccine Shows Promise

A vaccine made from a virus that gives a pox to canaries but is harmless to humans has shown promise in blocking infection by the AIDS virus.

The vaccine has been injected into a group of healthy volunteers and found to cause a powerful surge of killer T-cells, a type of immune system warrior that protects the body from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

“We take this as a positive sign,” said Dr. Kent Weinhold of Duke University, but he noted that it is still uncertain whether the rapid rise in killer T-cells would be enough to protect people against HIV.

A report on the vaccine was delivered Monday at a National Institutes of Health symposium on HIV vaccine candidates.

Weinhold said the canary pox virus used in his study causes disease in birds, but not in mammals. He said the virus will infect mammal cells, but is unable to reproduce and cause a full-blown infection.