Researchers stress that they do not yet have enough information to say whether those who got the shot indeed are more susceptible to infection with HIV. But they said initial information from the trial, which was stopped suddenly last month, is worrisome.
"At present, there is a tremendous amount of data being analyzed from the ... trial to see if there is, in fact, any greater risk of infection in those volunteers who received the vaccine," Dr. Mark Feinberg, vice president of medical affairs and public health for Merck, said in an e-mail letter.
Two studies were stopped in September after the independent board monitoring one of the trials noticed some troubling data.
"Specifically, 24 cases of HIV infection were seen among the 741 volunteers who received at least one dose of the investigational vaccine, while 21 cases of HIV infection were seen in the 762 participants who received at least one dose of the placebo," the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which was co-sponsoring the trial with Merck, said in a statement.
This trial, which began in 2004, had enrolled volunteers around the world in the United States, Peru, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Australia.
The second trial had begun in South Africa earlier this year, and had enrolled 800 volunteers...
Via Reuters
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