Talita Thekiso is one of two volunteers who received her first dose of the Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vaccine at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, in Soweto on Wednesday. The MVA vaccine is based on sub-type A of HIV, a strain of the virus which is predominant in east Africa. Health-e met Thekiso at the hospital.

The Phase One trial for the Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vaccine is now underway. Two of the first 55 volunteers in South Africa '€“ 40 in Soweto and 15 in Durban - have received their initial vaccinations. Worldwide a total of 111 people are taking part at research sites in Switzerland, the UK and The Netherlands. As Dr Eftyhia Vardas, director of the HIV Vaccines Programme at the Peri-natal HIV Research Unit explains, the Phase One trials are all about checking the safety of the vaccine in humans.

The second HIV prevention vaccine to be tested in South Africa began its Phase One trial in Johannesburg and Durban, on Wednesday November 11, 2003. The testing of the Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) follows just a week after the start of the Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis vaccine trial. Dr Eftyhia Vardas, Director of the HIV Vaccines Programme at the Peri-natal HIV Research Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital spoke to Health-e.

Worlds apart, yet united by common purpose, two very different South Africans choose to become part of the AIDS solution.