HIV vaccine trial begins at Oxford after 40 years since the first reported case of AIDS

In a phase-one clinical trial that began on Monday, researchers at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom gave the first doses of a potential HIV vaccine to volunteers.

According to the university, the experiment will assess the HIVconsvX vaccine's safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity.

The HIV-CORE 0052 study, which is part of the European Aids Vaccine Initiative, will enrol 13 HIV-negative people between the ages of 18 and 65 who are not deemed to be at high risk of infection.

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The vaccine is referred to as a "mosaic," which means it can target a wide spectrum of HIV-1 strains and might be used all around the world.

Unlike previous HIV vaccine candidates that aim to produce antibodies from B-cells, HIVconsvX aims to activate the immune system's T cells and direct them to HIV's most conserved and vulnerable areas.

"An effective HIV vaccine has been elusive for 40 years.This trial is the first in a series of evaluations of this novel vaccine strategy in both HIV-negative individuals for prevention and in people living with HIV for cure, " Tomas Hanke, the trial’s lead researcher and Professor of Vaccine Immunology at the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute, said in a statement.

If left untreated, HIV damages the body's immune system and can develop into life-threatening AIDS.

The UN announced in 2014 that by 2020, the number of people newly infected with the virus would be reduced to 500,000. However, nearly 1.5 million additional cases were reported last year.

AIDS was first clinically reported on June 5, 1981, with five cases in the United States.

(With inputs from agencies)