ape Town - South Africa, with one of the world's fastest rising HIV infaction rates, expects to develop an anti-Aids vaccive by 2004, a senior health official said yesterday.

Dr Malegapuru, president of the Medical Research Council (MRC), said initial trials for the vaccine were scheduled to begin around August this year, in a project that cost between R400 million so far.

"We have the challenge of HIV/Aids in this country and it has enormous moral, ethical, social and economic implications for us," he said in an interview at MRC headquarters in Tygerberg.

:My guess is that by 2004 South Africa will have an Aids vaccine of its own and the most important thing is that we're on course to deliver on this," De Makgoba said.

He said the 16-month-old vaccine search - called the Douth African Aids Vaccine Initiative (Saavi) - was aimed at battling the so-called Class C HIV sub-type, most prevalent in the southern African region.

"This is an important and enormous contribution to the whole exercise of the global efforst of developing an Aids vaccine. We're looking at a preventative type of vaccine," added Dr Makgoba, who also sits on the United Nations' Advisory Committee on Aids.

South Africa, with a population of 40 million, so far has about four million people infected with HIV - hte virus that causes Aids - and a further 1 700 people are infected daily, making it one of the countries with the highest infection rates in the world.

Dr Makgoba said the Saavi project involved 70 South African medical research scientists, who were working in partnership with some of their regional, British and US counterparts.

For South Africa the search for an anti-Aids vaccine marks a determination in the governments to beef up its Aids fight which has so far been mired in political controversy.

Last October President Mbeki - under pressure to supply the anti-Aids drug AZT to thousands of rape victims and HIV positive pregnant women in South Africa - caused a furore when he cast doubt on the usefulness of the drug.

South Africa says it would have to fork out nearly R300 billion a year to sponsor AZT for all those infected with the virus in the country.

Dr Makgobe cautioned, however, that - despite the search for a possible vaccine - the public still had the responsibility to guard itself against HIV/Aids.

"The vaccine we're developing goes hand in hand with all the other preventative measures that are currently in place like the use of condoms. Our drive to find a vaccine does not mean people can go sleeping around now," he said.

- © Reuters

an Electronic Mail & Guardian publication

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