Mom’s cells give hope in war on HIV
IN what could be a major breakthrough in the prevention of HIV infection, South African and US scientists will begin human trials next year using an antibody first detected in a mystery HIV-positive KwaZulu-Natal woman.
Acclaimed HIV/Aids expert Professor Salim Abdool Karim told the Sunday Times this week that his University of KwaZulu-Natal-based Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa had partnered with the US National Institute of Health to manufacture the antibody.
The human studies will start in the middle of next year following promising results when the antibody from the 27-yearold woman was successfully tested on monkeys.
The mother of two — known as CAP 256 to protect her identity — tested HIV-positive in 2005.
“We have taken the antibody that she was making and genetically engineered it and now it’s a much better antibody. We tested it in monkeys and the results were terrific. We now know that this antibody can protect TRIALS: Professor Salim Abdool Karim monkeys from getting an HIV-like virus,” said Karim.
He said the big question was whether this would work in humans, “because what happens in monkeys does not always translate to humans”.
If the trials are successful, “the idea is to give this antibody as an injection every four to six months to protect someone from getting HIV. If that works we can change the course of this epidemic,” said Karim.
A study published in the prestigious Nature journal in April found that a single injection of antibodies that target HIV can protect monkeys from contracting the virus for nearly six months.
Karim said the woman’s cells that produced the antibody — regarded as among the most potent in the world against HIV infection — were being grown in the laboratory in preparation for the human trials next year.
The Durban-based professor, who bagged the Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Award last year in recognition of his research on HIV prevention and treatment in Africa, could not speculate on the cost of the antibody.
The latest UNAIDS data released this week, covering 60 countries, show that in the past two years the number of people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy has increased by about a third, reaching 17 million people — two million more than the target of 15 million by 2015 set by the UN General Assembly.
South Africa alone had nearly 3.4 million people on treatment, more than any other country in the world.
The world has committed to ending the HIV/Aids epidemic by 2030 and next week the UN is hosting a high-level meeting in New York that will set the global agenda for the 21st International Aids Conference in Durban the week after that.
“I’m hoping that this [Durban] conference will be an opportunity to better understand the Aids epidemic in Africa and put more effort into trying to find a solution,” said Karim.
“We have a few presentations on our antibodies at the conference but these are not major clinical studies as we are still manufacturing the antibody,” he said. GAME BOY: Nine-year-old Nkululeko Mabe uses a Wi-Fi hotspot to play games and do his homework THIS is where the “abo clever” used to hang out, puffing on fags and whistling at anybody young and female.
Now the township corner is the venue for a new crowd — internet surfers.
Young people have taken over these corners as the government rolls out free Wi-Fi hot spots in Gauteng’s major townships.
The hot spots have attracted technophiles like nine-year-old Nkululeko Mabe. As cars whizz past on the Soweto highway, he sits on the pavement, totally absorbed in the world of his smartphone.
“I come here to download games. I love it here. I also STREET SMARTS: Students Siphesihle Nyembe, left, and Thabang Mnisi use a Wi-Fi hotspot to access the internet sometimes do my schoolwork. I normally stay here until 7pm,” said Mabe, who lives near the Rea Vaya bus station in Diepkloof.
The City of Johannesburg has selected certain stops along Rea Vaya routes as sites for free internet.
Girls in school uniform share music files and giggle as they show each other tweets by their favourite celebrities.
Amid the frivolity, Tshepo Mbata, 17, and Mandisa Khoza, 18, are here to submit their university application forms.
“We used to avoid this area. It was always full of boys who would harass us and ask us stupid questions. But since the free Wi-Fi, everyone who cares to know comes here,” said Mbata.
Thabiso Sebola, a part-time first-year project management student at the University of the Witwatersrand, said: “I do a lot of my studying here. I download subject content and review what my lecturer said in class with the assistance of information from internet sites. I come here at least four times a week — even when it is cold.”
Sammy Rakgale, a project manager for a Midrand company, is parked nearby in his white Audi A4.
“As you can see, I am on my way home but had to first download certain files. It’s convenient for me,” he said.
Lusanda Mbane, marketing manager at BrightWave Technologies — the broadband service provider contracted by the city to roll out free Wi-Fi in some parks in the area — said there were 400 hot spots in Soweto.
“Our aim is to make the internet available to everyone, regardless of their background,” said Mbane.
Opposite Orlando Stadium, Dikeledi Rakodi, who is jobhunting, has just e-mailed her CV to several companies.
“I have already sent five of my CVs to companies and I just hope that I will get a positive answer,” she said.
That old street corner is now a hot spot for realising dreams.