Hard work never fails has been proven again as a recent medical trial has come out with the first positive step in the long race in search for efficient HIV vaccine. The trials conducted over a period of six years by a group of researchers in Thailand are the most promising ones in this field as it prevents people from the dangerous HIV virus – though it is still not a fully usable vaccine.

For decades researchers had been working to find the effective vaccine for HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus. A recent study was conducted in Thailand that involved sixteen thousand healthy people, aged 18 to 30. The trials were conducted in main areas that are considered as high HIV risk areas. Some areas to name are provinces of Rayon and Chonburi, the city of Pattaya and more. This region was chosen as the perfect place to execute the trial as this was also the hotspot for migration from and to Cambodia.

The trial started 6 years ago in Oct 2003 and was wrapped up some months ago with positive results. The results were really amazing and provided the glimpse of hope that researchers were looking for all these years. It showed that the risk of getting infected by HIV fell almost 30% for those who were vaccinated than those who were not.

When asked about this Dr. Supachai Rerks-Ngarm, Thailand Ministry, Public Health said that it is still unknown as what attributes to the success of the vaccines but the results are a real breakthrough and sign of relief. He also added that it was the first project across the world where a vaccine is designed not only to be safe but also to reduce the probability of the infection. It really gives the hope that an effective HIV vaccine is possible in the near future.

Don Baxter, Australian Federation of AIDS Organizations, however says that it is rather unlikely that this vaccine will be available to general people in the near future. Don also said that this is the first in the class of HIV vaccine that has shown positive results. He added that 30% is really a low number to risk putting this to the general public as this would in turn reduce the use of condom and may result in more infections.

The $140 million trial was funded by US Army in order to ensure that its troops are protected from the virus as they travel to different parts of the world. Speaking about this, Eric G John, United States Ambassador to Thai, said that this trial will surely brings scientists and researchers close to the solution and will help them find the vaccine for the HIV virus. He added that this is the largest attempt in its class that has been concluded with great results and brought scientists closer to the effective HIV vaccine.

United Nations has also welcomed this result as it offers new ray of hope to almost 40 million HIV patients across the world.