HIV/AIDS vaccine goes to trials

The first human trial of an HIV/AIDS vaccine was launched on Thursday by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in America.

The first trial phase of the vaccine, developed to prevent the three most common forms of the virus, was launched under the supervision of the Vaccine Research Centre (VRC).

The vaccine includes four different modified HIV genes, drawn from the HIV subtypes A and C - the most common types of HIV in Africa and Asia, and subtype B - the most prevalent form of HIV in North America and Western Europe.

These three types of HIV/AIDS account for about 90% of infections worldwide.