There are 14,000 new HIV infections every day, with over 95 per cent occurring in developing countries. The best way of controlling the spread of the virus would be to develop an effective vaccine against it.

However, HIV presents particularly difficult obstacles to the creation of a successful vaccine. Unlike other viruses, it is capable of thwarting both antibody and cellular immune responses to infection. In this article published in Science, Emilio Emini and Wayne Koff review the challenges of developing HIV vaccines and outline recent progress and best hopes for the future.

They conclude that what is needed most is a degree of collaboration that far surpasses current global efforts.

Link to full article in Science

Reference: Science 304, 1913 (2004)