SAO PAULO, Sao Paulo (State) (AFP) - Brazilian scientists have developed a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine and plan to begin testing on monkeys later this year, a sponsor institution said on Monday.
Known as the HIVBr18, the vaccine against the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (Aids) was developed and patented by a team from the Medicine Faculty of the University of Sao Paulo, the Sao Paulo state Research Foundation (FAPESP) said.
The scientists said that, at its current stage of development, the vaccine would not totally eliminate the virus from the organism.
But the vaccine would be able to maintain it at a viral load low enough that the infected person will neither develop an immunodeficiency nor transmit the virus, they explained.