New Investigational Vaccine To Prevent Hepatitis C Tested
From: An Metet (anmetet_at_freedom.gmsociety.org)
Date: 10/16/04
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Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2004 07:53:59 -0400
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ST. LOUIS - With an estimated 170 million people around the world already
infected with hepatitis C, Saint Louis University is testing, for the first
time in humans, an investigational vaccine that researchers hope will prevent
infection with the virus. The successful development of such a vaccine would
represent a major step in combating this growing health problem.
Saint Louis University is the only site in the country conducting this pilot
study.
"There is currently no licensed vaccine to protect against the hepatitis C
virus," said Sharon Frey, M.D., principal investigator for the study and
associate professor of internal medicine at Saint Louis University School of
Medicine. "Our research is important because infection with hepatitis C virus
is a major health problem throughout the world. It is believed that 2.7 million
Americans have chronic infection with this virus, and up to 170 million people
may have chronic infection with hepatitis C virus throughout the world."
The purpose of this research is to study the safety and effectiveness of three
different strengths of the Chiron Corporation's investigational hepatitis
vaccine.
"This is the first time this hepatitis vaccine will be tested in humans," Frey
said. "A vaccine to prevent the infection would be an important breakthrough in
controlling the spread of the hepatitis C virus."
The study is being conducted by Saint Louis University's Center for Vaccine
Development (led by the division of infectious diseases and immunology) in
collaboration with Saint Louis University Liver Center (led by the school's
division of gastroenterology and hepatology). This research is sponsored by the
National Institutes of Health and Chiron.
Hepatitis C virus is a blood-borne infection that causes approximately 10,000
deaths annually and is responsible for almost half of the 4,000 liver
transplants each year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates
medical and work-loss costs for hepatitis C at more than $600 million annually,
excluding the costs of transplantation. In the United States alone, the Centers
for Disease Control believe that approximately 40,000 new cases of hepatitis C
infections occur every year.
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