aids

AIDS - What's new ? ------------------- Is the message getting through? We already know enough about AIDS to prevent its spread, but ignorance, complacency, fear and bigotry continue to stop many from taking adequate precautions. We know enough about how the infection is transmitted to protect ourselves from it without resorting to such extremes as mandatory testing, enforced quarantine or total celibacy. But too few people are heeding the AIDS message. Perhaps many simply don't like …

…a way off: ------------------------- Scientists caution that a safe, effective vaccine against HIV may be at least a decade away, mainly because, like the influenza virus, HIV mutates (changes structure) quickly, producing different strains. (Several different HIV strains have already been isolated.) An ideal vaccine must be able to stimulate neutralization of both "free" viruses and those hidden within lymphocytes, such as T-helper cells. Researchers in various countries have developed and are testing a fe