End to pandemic requires holy grail of HIV/AIDS: an effective vaccine

Research carried out at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in the USA suggests that an end to the HIV/AIDS pandemic will only be possible with the development of an effective HIV vaccine.

NIAID director Anthony Fauci writes that, while existing treatments are effective at suppressing HIV and preventing viral transmission, substantial gaps in implementation remain, and are likely to be difficult to eliminate.

The report notes that, “globally, more than 17 million people living with HIV are not receiving antiretroviral therapy. This is compounded by the continuing high rate of new infections, an estimated 1.8 million worldwide in 2016 alone.”