South African scientists have completed their laboratory research on a potential HIV vaccine, and the country’€™s first human trials involving up to 20 people are expected to begin in the third quarter of the year.

This is according to Zo Mbelle, project manager for the South African HIV Vaccine Action Campaign, at the Medical Research Council (MRC).

Describing the process as “very, very exciting”, Mbelle, said the human trial of the VEE vaccine would be conducted at R. K. Khan Hospital, a hospital in Durban.

“What is really exciting is that this will put South Africa on the map, and show that we have the capacity to develop our own vaccine, unlike many other African countries who have depended on scientists from Europe and the US,” said Mbelle.

Kenya launched Africa’€™s first human trial of an HIV vaccine this week. However, the Kenyan candidate vaccine is based on HIV sub-type A, the most common form of the disease in East Africa, while HIV sub-type C is most prevalent in Southern Africa.

“Dr Carolyn Williamson of the University of Cape Town and Lynn Morris of National Institute of Virology have been collaborating with Alphavax based at the University of North Carolina to produce a South African-based vaccine utilising the Venezuelan encephalitis virus (VEE),” said Michelle Galloway, MRC spokesperson on the South African vaccine initiative

“The scientists have developed a substance in a test tube in laboratories that shows promise as a vaccine. It has also been tested on animals.

“Alphavax is a US-based biotechnology company, which has been working on a similar vaccine for sub-type B in the US. Alphavax will be making the substance which will be tested in the human trial here.”

All HIV vaccine work in the country is co-ordinated by the SA AIDS Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI). A set of criteria to evaluate potential trial sites have been developed by SAAVI.

The Medicines Control Council is involved in the licencing and registration of the product. Alongside institutional ethics boards and non-governmental organisations, the MCC ensures that volunteers are sufficiently protected, said Mbelle.

“There are about 10 candidate vaccines being researched and developed in the country at the moment,” said Mbelle. “Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital has also applied to be a test site and is waiting for funding. It has not yet identified which candidate vaccine it wants to test.”

Mbelle added that, although the scientific process had been completed, human trials were complex processes that took time.

“The volunteers have to be HIV negative, and have to have a low risk of HIV infection. They need to be educated about their rights and also need to know how the vaccine will work.”