HIV

HIV

HIV

HIV/AIDS is one of the leading causes of death in low income countries, especially in Africa. From the discovery of the virus responsible for AIDS in 1983 to the search for candidate vaccines and the development of antiretroviral drugs, huge advances have been made in the fight against this disease.

The virus and its pathophysiology

Teams at the Institut Pasteur and in the International Network are working on many different aspects of the infection and ways to control viral spread in the body:

replication mechanisms of the virus

HIV mutation

genetic recombination of different strains

the immune system's response

innate protection against the virus

natural control of the infection in the body

animal models

improving treatments

Advances in screening and monitoring

The Institut Pasteur International Network operates prevention and patient monitoring programmes on every continent. In Africa and southeast Asia, member institutes perform screening tests and take part in medical followup of HIV-positive patients (viral load, investigating antiretroviral drug resistance…). They are also involved in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of the virus, treatment and care for infected children, and follow-up of people co-infected with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

The challenge of finding a vaccine

The extreme variability of the virus is one of the main difficulties that researchers must contend with in the quest to develop a vaccine. Vaccine research therefore focuses on finding viral fragments capable of consistently activating HIV-specific humoural and cellular immunity.

Two candidate vaccines are being developed simultaneously:

a preventive “HIV-measles” candidate vaccine, with clinical trials beginning in late 2009

a therapeutic candidate vaccine designed to restore HIV-positive individuals' immune defences.

AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is a chronic immune system deficiency caused by infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The virus attacks CD4+ T lymphocytes, one of the body's vital cells. After HIV enters the bloodstream, an asymptomatic period is followed by a collapse of immune defences, leaving the body vulnerable to opportunistic infections. In the absence of treatment, AIDS is fatal in the vast majority of cases.

With more than 30 million people infected and over 2 million deaths each year, AIDS remains one of the major pathologies of the current era.

Routes of infection

The epidemic first spread in Africa among heterosexuals before appearing in 1981 in North America among members of the gay community. HIV then moved on to Europe, where it was discovered that the virus infected people receiving blood transfusions, haemophiliacs and drug users who shared needles, proving it could be transmitted via blood. Later, the disease was shown to ...