New human guinea pig HIV vaccine trial in South Africa....

[Guest guest]

deserves world wide condemnation! Since this is a GM vaccine, it needs

approval of the Minister of Agriculture which of course is very appropriate

as the trials involve human guinea pigs. The African Centre for Biosafety

already lodged an objection with the Minister of Agriculture, which was

totally ignored in the case of the previous GM HIV vaccine trials, also

conducted by Glenda Gray who is hell bent to win the Nobel Prize (as the

best Mengele clone!).

Naturally, I will also lodge a formal objection with the Minister of

Agriculture and was wondering......the good minister wouldn't know what hit

her if every single member on this list would send her an email expressing

outrage and condemnation.

Here is the e-mail address:

DB

 

Please forward it to other lists and ask everyone you can think of to do the

same.

 

Ingrid Blank

 

http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=747078

 

Critics fear worst for new SA HIV vaccine

Bobby Jordan Published:Apr 13, 2008

 

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An attempt to halt South Africa's latest HIV/Aids vaccine trial has sparked

a furious row among the country's medical fraternity.

 

 

 

 

The trial has been branded a public health risk by an environmental group

that claims the vaccine due to be tested is a potentially dangerous kind of

genetically modified organism (GMO).

 

But HIV/Aids researchers say the " candidate " vaccine has been thoroughly

tested in laboratories and, if successful in humans, could represent one of

the most important medical breakthroughs ever.

 

The trial, the first to test a vaccine fully developed in South Africa, is

due to start at sites in South Africa and the US later this year and is part

of the South African Aids Vaccine Initiative.

 

The vaccine is a combination of five HIV genes inserted into a host smallpox

virus to be injected into 36 healthy HIV- negative volunteers. They will be

monitored for 12 to 24 months in the hope that the vaccine does no harm.

 

It is the second HIV/Aids South African vaccine trial to generate huge

international interest as scientists rush to find an equivalent to vaccines

that helped conquer polio and smallpox.

 

The Department of Agriculture on Friday confirmed receiving a formal

objection to the trial from the African Centre for Biosafety, an outspoken

critic of GMOs. The objection hinges on safety concerns about GMOs --

particularly a new kind of GMO vaccine -- which some scientists say are not

fully understood. The new multigene GMO vaccine could combine with other

viruses to create new viruses, and set off a " worst-case scenario " -- the

breakout of a virus capable of harming people, objectors say.

 

" There is evidence in the literature that this kind of virus may infect

human cells, " said Mariam Mayet, environmental activist and anti-GM

lobbyist. " This means it is not a completely dead vaccine. If something goes

wrong we have to live with the consequences. "

 

South African molecular biologist William Stafford urged caution this week:

" The uncertainties are huge because you can generate totally novel viruses

whose properties you don't know -- it's a total black box. "

 

But HIV/Aids researchers said the objections were ill-founded and should not

derail what could be one of South Africa's greatest research triumphs.

 

Glenda Gray, a world-renowned HIV/Aids researcher and head of the national

vaccine initiative, said: " We've done everything that any other vaccine

developer would do because we don't want to take any shortcuts. "

 

She said other genetically modified vaccines were saving lives worldwide.

 

 

 

 

Checked by AVG.

Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.22.12/1374 - Release 04/11/2008

16:59

 

 

Checked by AVG.

Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.22.12/1374 - Release 04/11/2008

16:59