HIV Vaccine Development: A Call for JusticeBy Erin Cleveland HIV/AIDS: An Introduction Since its emergence in 1981, HIV/AIDS has moved to the forefront
of global health issues and has become one of the most widespread
and publicized pandemics in recent history. Today, approximately
33 million people worldwide are infected with the virus and,
despite increased funding for treatment and research in recent
years, HIV continues to spread.1 Thanks to extensive
efforts in research and development of antiretroviral drugs,
HIV/AIDS is now considered by many to be a chronic illness for
those with consistent access to the host of pharmaceuticals
now available. Unfortunately, many infected people-more than
70% by some estimates-in low- and middle-income countries do
not have such access.2 Consequently, millions continue
to die each year from untreated AIDS.3 Sub-Saharan Africa is the world's most heavily hit area. In
2007, that region alone accounted for 67% of all people living
with HIV and 75% of all AIDS deaths. Five percent of all adults
in sub-Saharan Africa are currently infected, compared to the
next highest adult prevalence rate of 1.1% in the Caribbean.
Despite the huge numbers of infected individuals, worldwide
efforts to address the pandemic have fallen short, with only
an estimated 30% of people who need treatment in sub-Saharan
Africa receiving it.4 Infection rates-which showed
40,000-50,000 new infections in the United States in 2006 as
compared to 1.7 million in sub-Saharan Africa5- indicate
that the developing world, particularly sub-Saharan Africa,
will continue to bear the burden of this disease unless something
is done to alter its course. Before this global problem can be effectively addressed, however, its complexities must be understood. In many ways, the intricate science of HIV and the pharmaceuticals used to treat it contribute to the current problems of drug ineffectiveness and limited access in global AIDS intervention today. HIV's complex retroviral life cycle has made it difficult to treat, because the virus hijacks the infected cell's replication apparatus. Drug development has faced the challenge of finding drug targets that prevent viral activity without also killing the infected host cells. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Antiretrovirals: The Problem of Access The development and use of antiretroviral drugs such as those
mentioned above have significantly reduced AIDS mortality worldwide.8
However, the use of these therapies has also been riddled with
obstacles. The current standard of treatment is a highly active
antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which employs the simultaneous
use of multiple antiretroviral drugs.9 Multiple drugs
must be used primarily because of the high mutation rate of
reverse transcriptase, which lacks effective proofreading and
repair mechanisms, leading to one mutation in about every 100,000
base pairs. This high mutation rate allows the HIV virus to
quickly develop resistance to drugs because there is an increased
likelihood of random mutations that will confer an advantage
against drugs, and will therefore allow the virus to survive
and most likely be transmitted to other people.10
It was not until the mid- 1990s, when the molecular structure
of HIV protease was discovered, that new classes of antiretrovirals
started to become readily available to the public. The increased
number of available drugs allowed for multi-targeted regimens
aimed at different points in the HIV life cycle.11
Today there are over two dozen antiretrovirals on the market
and, in developed countries where these drugs are readily available,
mortality rates have significantly declined.12 If
antiretrovirals continue to be the primary mode of treatment,
the continual development of new drugs will be necessary as
HIV resistance to these therapies develops. 13 Drug toxicity is also a major challenge in the use of antiretrovirals
today. Among the varied toxic side effects are: metabolic abnormalities,
mitochondrial toxicity, insulin resistance, and metabolic bone
problems, such as osteoporosis.14 Much of the problem
of toxicity lies in the fact that drug dosages are often uniformly
prescribed based on broad categories such as weight or gender,
a strategy that may save time and money but lacks consideration
of individuals' unique rates of drug metabolism.15
The timing of the initiation of antiretroviral therapy is also
an issue, because the toxicity of the drugs, which is often
more pronounced in individuals with higher CD4+ T-cell counts,
must be weighed against the need to prevent early viral replication.16
Additionally, there has been evidence showing that proper nutrition
is necessary for HAART to be most effective.17 This
presents a clear problem in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa,
where malnutrition and starvation are perhaps even more devastating
problems than AIDS.18 In developing regions with poor medical infrastructure, the
limited number of people lucky enough to receive HAART likely
obtain the drugs from a clinic or facility that is not equipped
to fully meet their general health or AIDS-specific needs.19
In addition to a lack of sophisticated facilities and medical
supplies, doctors and medical staff are often under-trained
and/or unprepared to work with the local population. Clinic
employees may be unable to provide adequate or accurate information
to patients about the disease and its treatments.20
Such underdeveloped medical infrastructure exacerbates endemic
problems such as the lack of nutritional supplementation and
proper drug prescription, as well as the issue of regimen adherence.
Because of the specific and multi-faceted targeting of HAART,
strict adherence to the drug regimen-which often involves taking
multiple pills at specific times each day-is necessary for treatment
to be effective . 21 Without proper and continued
HIV/AIDS counseling, achieving successful adherence is an unrealistic
goal for many. In places without properly trained medical staff
or with insufficient medical personnel, drug effectiveness drops
dramatically as patients fail to properly adhere to their drug
regimens. 22 Most infected people in developing regions, however, do not
deal with these issues, because they do not have access to HAART,
let alone the additional resources and knowledge necessary for
optimal effectiveness. Because HAART is such an expensive treatment,
despite falling costs in recent years, universal distribution
of these drugs may never be achieved.23 Although
there are large financial deficiencies impeding universal access
to treatment, the issue of access is much more complex than
a simple lack of money and resources. Even in cases where HAART
may be available in low-income countries, people may be unaware
of this treatment, or how to access it. A 2006 qualitative study
in Tanzania found that some people believed that accessing HAART
would be too expensive and logistically difficult to obtain,
beliefs that most often prevented them from seeking out treatment.
And in cases where people are willing to seek treatment, they
often face major obstacles obtaining it. The majority of people
do not know their HIV status, largely due to lack of education,
but also because of prohibitive HIV-testing costs. For those
who have tested positive, the money and time needed to travel
to distant clinics, the necessity of missing work or household
duties to get to the clinic, and the social stigma of being
known as HIV-positive are a few of the many reasons people in
developing countries do not take advantage of free treatment
even when it is available.25 The problems created by antiretrovirals are not limited to
the developing world or underserved populations, however. If
we are to continue using antiretrovirals as the primary treatment
for HIV/AIDS, we must accept that this will likely lead to viral
resistance and the emergence of new strains of HIV unresponsive
to current first-line drugs.26 Because in most developing
countries there is little availability of second-line therapies,
in the case of first-line treatment failure, many patients are
left to suffer as the virus becomes drug-resistant.27
The patients experiencing drug failure will not be the only
ones affected, because as more virulent strains of HIV develop,
the rest of the world population is at higher risk of being
infected with drug-resistant strains. The Case for an HIV Vaccine Cost and travel are not the only barriers to access of antiretrovirals,
however. According to a recent study aimed at identifying and
summarizing current barriers to access of HAART in resource-limited
regions, social stigma was one of the primary reasons people
both avoid getting tested and, if their status is already known,
do not seek out treatment. In many developing regions, discrimination
against individuals infected with HIV/AIDS is widespread, appearing
in the home, at work, and even in faith-based organizations.
This discrimination has created a fear in the general population
of being stigmatized as HIV-positive. Many, therefore choose
not to seek out treatment even in cases where it is available,
as they do not want to risk being seen at a clinic and possibly
ostracized from their community. Women are particularly susceptible
to issues with stigma, as being tagged as HIV-positive could
lead to domestic violence or abandonment.29 The development
of a vaccine could eliminate many issues associated with social
stigma, as receiving the vaccine actually implies that a person
is not infected. A vaccine would also prevent people from having
to continually risk being seen at an AIDS clinic in order to
receive antiretroviral treatment. In addition to improving accessibility, a vaccine would alleviate
many health risks associated with both antiretroviral therapy
and AIDS itself. This includes the myriad of HAART-associated
abnormalities and infections discussed above, as well as the
malnutrition issues associated with antiretroviral therapy and
HIV infection. As stated, malnutrition has been seen to decrease
the effectiveness of HAART. In addition, HIV infection exacerbates
malnutrition, thereby contributing to the already-critical state
of nutritional health in developing countries. Because a vaccine
would prevent infection, individuals would be at less risk for
deteriorating health themselves and less likely to acquire and
pass on infectious diseases that often are associated with HIV
infection, such as tuberculosis, herpes, Human Papilloma Virus,
and pneumonia.30 This would result in an overall
improvement in community health. Of course, we do not yet have an effective HIV vaccine. Some
may argue that it will be years before we do, and that we therefore
should invest resources primarily in antiretroviral development
rather than vaccine research. We must remember, however, that
vaccine development often takes time and shouldn't be abandoned
simply for the lack of instantaneous results. Antiretrovirals
may transform AIDS into a chronic rather than lethal illness
for those with access to the drugs; however, we can never hope
to eradicate AIDS without a vaccine, because antiretrovirals
only address the problem after it has arisen rather than preventing
it from arising altogether. And as long as this disease continues
to exist, the global health community will suffer. Recent results from an HIV vaccine trial in Thailand offer
promise that research efforts in the field are progressing and
that there exists a real possibility of developing an effective
vaccine. The Phase III double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
lasted for six years and involved more than 16,000 healthy volunteers
primarily at risk for heterosexual transmission of HIV. The
vaccine, consisting of four priming injections of ALVAC-HIV
and two booster injections of AIDSVAX B/E, was administered
in a series lasting six months. Participants were then tested
for HIV infection and viremia (the appearance of virus in the
bloodstream) every six months over the next three years. The
vaccine was shown to reduce the chance of HIV infection by 31.2%,
but did not affect viremia or CD4+ T cell counts in those who
became infected during the study.31 Although this is a modest outcome, these results may help
to guide scientists in future research efforts and provide insight
as to the type of vaccine that is most likely to be effective
against HIV. For instance, both of the vaccine components used
in the trial had previously failed to produce any protective
effect when administered alone but offered some protection when
given together, suggesting that researchers should perhaps focus
efforts on using a combinational approach in developing new
potential vaccines.32 Importantly, although thirty percent is only a moderate reduction in infection rate, there is evidence that even a partially effective vaccine could have a significant impact on a community's infection rates. A recent study showed that an HIV vaccine with 50% efficacy given to only 30% of the population could result in the decrease of new HIV infections by over a third within fifteen years. 33 This is due to herd immunity, a phenomenon by which one portion of the population's immunity to a disease reduces the risk of others without immunity contracting the disease. This conferred immunity is due to the reduced prevalence of the disease that results from the decreased number of people in the population able to be infected. Considering the effect of herd immunity, we can see that even a partially effective vaccine could offer a substantial opportunity to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The results of the Thailand trial offer promise that some type of vaccine that could be at least partially effective is on the horizon. Vaccine Funding Due to its rapid mutation rate and ability to develop resistance
to drugs, HIV has a highly variant genome among its subpopulations.
HIV-1, which accounts for the vast majority of infections worldwide,
is divided into four groups: M, O, N, and P. Within M, the "major"
group that accounts for over 90% of HIV-1 cases, there are number
of different clades that vary both in their genetic composition
and in their geographic distribution. Genetic variation among
clades is most notable in the genomic region coding for the
viral envelope proteins, where 20-30% nucleotide variation is
seen between clades. Other genomic regions that code for proteins
crucial to viral function, such as the pol region which contains
the genes for reverse transcriptase and protease, show more
sequence conservation between clades. Even so, approximately
5-15% of sequence variance is seen in the pol region.
37 This genetic variation among clades is important in the development
of treatments, because distinct genetic sequences produce distinct
viral proteins, thus requiring targeting of proteins that may
differ significantly depending on the viral clade. Luckily,
antiretroviral therapies have essentially been effective across
clades. This is likely due to the fact that most HIV antiretrovirals
target essential viral proteins, such as reverse transcriptase
and protease, which tend to display less variance among clades.38
A single vaccine, however, will likely not have the same universal
effectiveness as current antiretrovirals due to the fact that
vaccines target the highly variable viral envelope proteins
mentioned above. To date, the majority of vaccine research has been targeted
at clade B, although it accounts for only about 12% of HIV cases
worldwide. This is due to the fact that subtype B is the predominant
variety in the United States and Western Europe.39
Conversely, little vaccine research has been done using subtype
A, which predominates in central and northern Africa, or subtype
C, which is found primarily in southern Africa and India. These
two subtypes account for 27% and 47% of global HIV infections,
respectively.40 Of the thirty-one HIV vaccine clinical
trials currently underway, only five are directed specifically
at subtype C; all of these trials were started in the past three
years. The Thailand trial targeted subtype B/E, which is unsurprising
given that the trial was funded primarily by the U.S. Army.41
In order to resolve the global AIDS crisis, our future efforts must be aimed at targeting the disease where it is most rampant. In the realm of vaccine research and development, this means re-directing funds toward research on the most predominant viral subtypes, namely subtypes A and C. If we hope to one day eradicate AIDS, these subtypes will have to be first addressed. Development of a vaccine effective against only the B subtype will not be sufficient to rid our world of the disease. It may succeed in protecting the developed world from AIDS for a time, but without means to eliminate other, more widespread subtypes, it will only be a matter of time before the developed world is plagued by new, perhaps more virulent strains of HIV. Subtype spreading has in fact already begun. While Europe has historically been a region almost exclusively infected by subtype B, recent years have seen more than 40% of the continent's new infections resulting from a clade other than B.42 This statistic foreshadows continued spread of HIV subtypes that is likely to occur as immigration rates increase and the world experiences the effects of globalization. The possibility for spread highlights why the developed world needs to focus research on subtypes other than its own, if only for the most practical of reasons, self-defense. The Common Good: A Call to Action Historically HIV vaccine research, with its focus on clade
B, not only has not taken account of the common good, but also
has failed to adequately address the issue of the distributive
justice, which mandates the distribution of scarce resources
according to a just standard. In this case, the distribution
of funding for HIV vaccine research must be based on the standards
of need and equality. Distributive justice calls for us to address
the inequality of disease burden by redirecting the distribution
of much-needed resources to the global south in order to foster
a more equal and, consequently, more just global community.
In the case of HIV/AIDS, this will require giving preference
to those who are most in need. This preference should manifest
itself immediately in the distribution of resources and services
to heavily affected areas. In the short-term, services must
include access to HAART, but this cannot be the only effort
to ease the burden of AIDS in highly affected regions. The development
of an effective vaccine should be the ultimate goal of current
international HIV/AIDS initiatives, such as those of AVAC: Global
Advocacy for HIV Prevention, the Global Fund, and International
AIDS Vaccine Initiative, as it appears to be our sole hope for
eventual eradication of the disease. The practicalities of funding are, and will continue to be,
a key component in the process of vaccine development. Once
a vaccine is successfully developed, distribution costs will
likely not be an obstacle, as they will most likely be much
less than current costs needed for production and distribution
of antiretrovirals. Instead, research and development are likely
to constitute the majority of vaccine-related to costs, and
will most probably necessitate additional funding sources in
the near future. Private funding from groups such as the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation-who contribute significantly to
initiatives such as IAVI and The Global Alliance for Vaccination
and Immunization (GAVI)-will be important; however, public funding
from developed nations, including the United States, must also
increase. If future funding from individual nations could be
directed to centralized vaccine efforts such as the GAVI, which
receives over two billion dollars in public funding from over
50 countries, development efforts may be able to proceed more
quickly. 44 We must remember, however, that the developed world's donation of resources cannot be a long-term solution to either the HIV/AIDS crisis or the issues of poverty that exacerbate the severity of this crisis in the global south. Development of local infrastructures in suffering countries will be necessary to the development of a global community that better reflects concern for the common good. To resolve issues with AIDS and other infectious diseases prevalent in the developing world, building a stronger medical infrastructure will be necessary. General national infrastructure must also improve in order to secure a more stable future for these countries. Importantly, development of these infrastructures must be based around local communities and their own knowledge and skill. This will likely require programs aimed at training local community members in order to create a skilled workforce that can hopefully over time take charge of the task of promoting social and economic development within their own country. This is a daunting task, and one that has yet to be achieved despite many humanitarian efforts. The difficulty of the task, however, cannot be a deterrent to us taking action in the present, even if that action seems insignificant, in order to address issues of global inequality and injustice by promoting the common good and distributive justice. Restoration: A Call to Justice This lack of acknowledgment and urgency to provide treatment
to these regions until recently necessitates action from the
developed world to repair the harm caused by its prior lack
of response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the global south. The
principle of restorative justice calls for peaceful and constructive
action to repay past injustices.45
It is clear that many of our past actions, and lack of action,
in Africa have contributed to the every day reality of poverty
and disease in the region. We, unfortunately, cannot take back
those actions. Instead, we must move forward with constructive
action that can hopefully help to repair some of the injustice
that we have created and perpetuated. One example of modern day restorative justice is the creation
of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of South Africa
in 1995. The aim of the committee was to peacefully reconcile
the many human rights violations that occurred during the country's
apartheid, which lasted nearly fifty years and severely marginalized
the country's majority black population, while granting privilege
to the minority white population. In contrast to the Nuremberg
Trials that followed the end of World War II and involved the
prosecution of those who had taken part in the violation of
human rights, the TRC sought instead to give a voice to those
who had been silenced for so many years under apartheid. The
committee held a series of hearings over a three-year period
where both victims and perpetrators were allowed to testify
and share their experiences of abuse and injustice. The committee
had the power to grant amnesty to perpetrators who were deemed
to have been working under government influence and provided
full disclosure of their actions. Of course, true justice for
human rights violations is difficult, perhaps impossible, to
achieve. Despite its imperfection, however, the TRC is a good
example of a formal effort to restore human rights and human
dignity.47,48 In the case of the global HIV/AIDS crisis, the past injustices
run deep and, again, are unlikely to ever be truly resolved.
That does not mean, however, that we should not attempt to reconcile
with those whose suffering we have helped to perpetuate through
our exploitation and ignorance of their humanity. Those of us
in the developed world are called to use the many resources
at our disposal to assist those in the developing world without
access to such resources. Like with the TRC, we need to begin
the process of restoring human dignity to those in developing
world. Working to eradicate HIV/AIDS is a peaceful strategy
for restoring the damage caused by our past injustices. In order
to achieve this restoration, however, we must give preference
to those in most need. That means that the focus of HIV vaccine
research should be redirected to the clades that are most prevalent
in the world, rather than the clade most common in the regions
that hold the majority of global wealth. As we continue forward in our efforts to resolve the AIDS pandemic, we must keep in mind consideration for the common good and the principles of distributive and restorative justice that call those of us in the developed world to help resolve the AIDS pandemic in the developing world. These considerations should then guide the actions of future funding and vaccine development decisions. Only then will we fulfill consideration for the common good and the value of global community. 1 UNAIDS 5 Bibliography Adamson, C. & Freed, E., 2009. "Novel approaches to inhibiting HIV-1 replication". AntiviralResearch doi:10.1016/j.antiviral.2009.09.009 AVERTing HIV and AIDS, 2009. "AIDS, drug prices and generic
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the world 2009." Food and Erin Cleveland wrote this piece as her honors thesis at SantaClara University. July 2010 |
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