RESUMO
In 1992 the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok, Thailand, collaborated with the Phramongkutklao Army Medical Center to set up the Joint Clinical Research Center (JCRC). The purpose of the Center is to conduct clinical research in support of HIV vaccine development and testing. To date, eight HIV vaccine-related research protocols have been conducted at the JCRC, involving 1,668 volunteers. The JCRC has been, and continues to be, a key site for the transfer of clinical trial expertise to new sites at universities, government clinics and hospitals in Thailand and other countries. Overall rates of follow-up have been excellent, while protocol violations and data clarification errors have been minimal.
Assuntos
Vacinas contra a AIDS , Academias e Institutos/organização & administração , Ensaios Clínicos como Assunto , Humanos , Cooperação Internacional , Desenvolvimento de Programas , Garantia da Qualidade dos Cuidados de Saúde , Tailândia , Estados UnidosRESUMO
CRF01_AE and subtype B are circulating in Thailand and the strains have become intermixed in some high-risk groups, establishing the possibility of intersubtype recombination. The first such recombinant, mostly B with gp120 from CRF01_AE, was recently identified. Here we report a heterosexually acquired recombinant of different structure, with most of the genome from CRF01_AE but almost the entire envelope from subtype B. Surveillance by V3 serotype and genotype in multiple regions, followed by full-genome sequencing, was used to identify this strain. Pending vaccine trials in Thailand require knowledge of the presence of such strains in the population, and these recombinants provide valuable reagents for the laboratory evaluation of cross-subtype immunity. Studies are underway to determine whether either recombinant is circulating widely.
