Page 10 - HOH

A28 SCIENCE
Friday 7 February 2020

In a Nov. 30, 2016 file photo, pharmacist Mary Chindanyika looks
at documents on a fridge containing a trial vaccine against HIV
on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa.
Associated Press
Study is halted as

HIV vaccine fails In this Feb. 3, 2020, file photo, a security officer wearing a face mask stands on a subway train in

Beijing.
Associated Press
test in South Africa Experts prepare but new China

By The Associated Press work. Regrettably, it does
The latest attempt at an not," said NIH infectious virus not a pandemic yet
HIV vaccine has failed, as diseases chief Dr. Anthony
researchers announced Fauci. By CARLA K. JOHNSON spread in China, investiga- ratory syndrome.
Monday they have There were no safety con- AP Medical Writer tors believe each infec- WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
stopped giving the experi- cerns, but NIH, which spon- Health authorities are pre- tion has led to an average The first cases appeared in
mental shots in a major sored the study, agreed paring for a possible pan- of 2.2 others getting sick. December in Wuhan, a city
study. that vaccinations should demic as they work to That's a bit more than ordi- in central China's Hubei
The study had enrolled stop. contain a respiratory illness nary flu but less than SARS, province. Many of the first
more than 5,400 people The experimental shot was in China that's caused by severe acute respiratory people infected had vis-
since 2016 in South Af- based on the only vaccine a new virus. Governments syndrome, a genetic cous- ited or worked at the Hua-
rica, a country with one ever shown to offer even are limiting travel, isolat- in of the new virus. nan Seafood Wholesale
of the world's highest HIV modest protection against ing sick people and keep- Governments are prepar- Market in Wuhan, which
rates. Last month, monitors HIV, one that was deemed ing travelers returning from ing for a possible pandem- has since been closed for
checked how the study 31% effective in Thailand. the affected region under ic and taking actions to an investigation. Chinese
was going and found 129 That wasn't good enough quarantine to watch for prevent one. health officials say they be-
HIV infections had oc- for real-world use but gave symptoms. The World Health Organi- lieve the illness first spread
curred among the vaccine scientists a starting point. In the United States, the zation designates a pan- from animals to people.
recipients compared with They beefed up the shot scope and cost of the demic when there are They now say it can spread
123 among those given a and adapted it to the HIV government response is outbreaks on at least two between people.
dummy shot, according to subtype that's common in increasing. U.S. health offi- continents. So far, WHO has WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?
the U.S. National Institutes southern Africa. cials already have tapped called this a "public health Common symptoms in-
of Health. Two other large studies, in into a $105 million rapid re- emergency of international clude fever, cough and
"An HIV vaccine is essen- several countries, are un- sponse fund and notified concern." shortness of breath. In se-
tial to end the global pan- der way testing a different Congress that they may The 2009 H1N1 influenza rious cases, the virus can
demic and we hoped this approach to a possible HIV need $136 million more. virus reached pandemic cause pneumonia. Some
vaccine candidate would vaccine.q
Here's what you should level. Now, H1N1 is a regu- patients have needed oxy-
know about the illness: lar flu virus that circulates gen. Others have had only
IS IT A PANDEMIC? around the globe season- mild illness.
Not yet. The virus is an epi- ally. It's too early to say whether
demic in China, where WHAT IS THE NEW VIRUS? the new virus will fade out
more than 17,000 cases Scientists have identified as cold and flu viruses do
have been reported, but it as a new coronavirus. when winter ends. If it does,
has not affected enough The name comes from the a second wave of illness
people around the globe Latin word for crowns or could start up in the fall. By
to be considered a pan- halos, which coronaviruses then, there may be a vac-
demic. So far, other coun- resemble under a micro- cine to slow it down.
tries have reported only a scope. The coronavirus HOW IS IT TREATED?
few dozen cases, most in- family has many types that The World Health Organi-
volving travelers returning affect people. Some cause zation has said there is not
from China and their close the common cold while a specific medicine rec-
contacts. others originating in bats, ommended to treat the
And while there have been camels and other animals illness, although some will
more than 360 deaths, all have evolved into more se- be tested. For now, doctors
but one has been in China. vere illnesses such as SARS are treating symptoms with
Based on the way the virus or MERS, Middle East respi- anti-fever drugs. q