AIDS vaccine cuts infection 30%

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Researchers in Thailand announce for the first time, an experimental vaccine has been shown to prevent infection with the AIDS virus. This is a watershed moment in the history of the deadly disease.

The study tested a two-vaccine combo in a "prime-boost" approach, where the first vaccine primes the immune system to attack HIV, and the second one strengthens the response.

The vaccine is sponsored in part by the US Army and conducted by the Thailand Ministry of Public Health. This was the world's largest AIDS vaccine trial, enlisting more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand.

Eric G. John, U.S. Ambassador to Thailand, said, "In the international scientific and medical communities around the globe, this trial will be recognized as a testament to Thailand's ability to successfully execute a complicated vaccine trial - the largest ever attempted - that ended with a credible conclusion and that brought us one step closer to an HIV vaccine."

The AIDS virus infects an estimated 33-million people globally and has killed 25-million since it was identified in the 1980s. Every day, 75-hundred people worldwide become infected with HIV. Recent failures had led many scientists to think that such a vaccine might never be possible. Even a marginally helpful vaccine could have a big impact.