H1N1 Vaccine Trials in HIV-Infected People

Clinical trials of the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine have begun among HIV-positive pregnant women to determine if the product safely elicits a protective immune response, the National Institutes of Health announced Friday. Another trial of the same test begins this week among HIV-infected children and youth, said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of NIH.

"These studies are important because HIV infection and pregnancy both increase the risk for a poor immune response to the normal 15-microgram dose of the seasonal influenza vaccine given to the general population," Fauci said. "Moreover, children, young people and pregnant women are at higher risk for more severe illness from the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus than other groups, and HIV-infected individuals in these populations may be particularly vulnerable."

The trial of pregnant women will enroll 130 volunteers ages 18-39 who are in their second or third trimester of pregnancy, NIH said. The other trial will enroll 140 children and youth ages 4-24 who were infected with HIV at birth. Volunteers will receive two 30-microgram doses of 2009 H1N1 vaccine 21 days apart, and researchers will evaluate the strength and longevity of the immune response.

For more information, visit www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2009/H1N1HIVTrials.htm.

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