Don't Expect an HIV/AIDS Vaccine to Stop the Spread of HIV/AIDS

These truths are unwelcome by the sexually 'liberated' who insist on their right to promote and participate in risky sexual behavior.

P>FRONT ROYAL (Population Research Institute) - The best weapon against HIV/AIDS is chastity, so asserts the Catholic Church. The sex education types--in league with the population control establishment and supported by homosexual groups--respond with mocking laughter. Self-control is impossible in matters of sex, they sneer. 

Instead, they demand that science save people from the consequences of their risky behavior. It is medicine, not morals, that must provide a defense against this plague. As a result of their combined lobbying efforts, billions of dollars have been spent by governments in an effort to develop an HIV/AIDS vaccine.

Unfortunately, recent research shows that such a vaccine is doomed to failure.

Dr. Bonnie Dunbar, the founder of the Africa Biomedical Center in Kenya, works daily with victims of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases.Speaking at the 4th International Public Conference on Vaccination recently in Washington, D.C., the famed researcher argued that the effort to develop an HIV/AIDS vaccine is pointless, and the money should instead be spent on primary health care.

While it may be possible to eventually develop a vaccine, she argues, this will do little to prevent heterosexual transmission of the disease. The first problem is that a woman's uterus has very susceptible HIV receptors, making her prone to contract the disease. The second is that even if an HIV vaccine is successfully administered to women, the immune responses that result will not stop the deadly infection from occurring.

Dr. Dunbar explains that for two-thirds of the month the reproductive tract is very active, in an immunological sense. The cervix secretes antibodies that react against foreign bacteria (and sometimes against sperm). The uterus has active cell immunity. The oviducts secrete endogenous microbicides to attack bacteria. During this part of her cycle, a vaccine would presumably provide some protection against infection.

Not so around the time of ovulation. The hormones of mid-cycle cause the immune system of the reproductive tract to virtually shut down. The antibody levels for the entire immune system of the reproductive tract significantly drop for ten days. In the uterus, there is total suppression of immune antibodies. Both the humoral and cellular immune systems are depressed.

The reason is not hard to understand. The immune response of the reproductive tract is dampened during this time so that incoming sperm, which are totally foreign in a genetic sense, are not attacked. The immune system of the uterus, in particular, is completely turned off to allow any  tiny human beings who may be conceived to safely implant in the uterus.

What this means is that there is a window of 10 days or so during which a vaccine will provide little or no protection against infection by the HIV/AIDS virus. 

As Dr. Dunbar explains, "The implications for heterosexual transmission of HIV/AIDS and some of these other diseases is that for ten days it doesn't matter what you have in your blood system [by way of antibodies] your reproductive tract is going to be shutting down, totally independent. . . . And so a vaccine that induces either humoral or cellular immunity would not be likely to be effective for preventing STD infections or HIV during mid-cycle in the female."Âť

Another well-known expert, Dr. Chuck Wira, who has conducted extensive research in reproductive immunology, confirmed Dr. Dunbar's conclusion: "Our work and that of others indicate that selective aspects of the immune system are dampened . . . . Total suppression is confined to the uterus.No one to my knowledge has really looked at this in the vaccine development."Âť Dr. Dunbar explains. "I think this is one of the reasons why they've not been successful in many cases."Âť

Indeed. If there is "total suppression" of immune function in the uterus, with its ready HIV receptors, then there is a "window of vulnerability" for HIV transmission that a vaccine cannot shut.

Arguing from this conclusion, Dr. Dunbar advocates taking the billions of dollars being spent on HIV and STD vaccine development and spending it instead on increased food production, clean drinking water, and basic health care. "I would like to say that poor nutrition and water sources are basically our nightmare in Africa,"Âťshe added."Our most effective vaccine is a glass of clean water."Âť

What she means is that Africans suffer not only from HIV/AIDS, but also from many other STDs and infectious diseases. Not only that, but acquired drug resistance, malnutrition, dehydration, and terrible sanitary conditions are a problem throughout sub-Saharan Africa, meaning that the immune systems of many Africans are hopelessly compromised. All of these factors combine to render Africans particularly susceptible to HIV/AIDS.

For this reason, Dr. Dunbar questions whether an HIV/AIDS vaccine would offer much protection even to men, despite the fact that they do not experience the "window of vulnerability" that women do. Compromised immune systems are incapable of the kind of immunological response that a vaccine must generate to be effective.

These truths are unwelcome by the sexually "liberated" who insist on their right to promote and participate in risky sexual behavior, who clamor for medical means of protecting themselves against the consequences, and who viciously attack anyone who dares to question this self-destructive behavior.

When the Holy Father, as he did before last year's trip to Africa, questioned the efficacy of condoms to contain HIV/AIDS, he was publicly reviled in the press. Yet the research shows that condoms actually contribute to the spread of AIDS.

Now we learn that the multi-billion dollar effort to develop an AIDS vaccine is doomed to failure as well.

Self-control, anyone? 

---

PRI is a 501(c)(3) educational organization. We work to reverse the trends brought about by the myth of overpopulation. Our growing, global network of pro-life groups spans over 30 countries. To date, we have successfully eliminated $790 million in U.S. tax dollars to International Planned Parenthood, UNFPA, and other anti-life aboritionists while redirecting much of this to family friendly programs like Child Survival.

See our current project.

Donate now to directly affect the lives and well-being of mothers and children around the world.