HIV And HCV Vaccine Combination Can Treat Both The Infections Exclusively In The Future

A combined vaccination can be used simultaneously to treat or prevent both HIV and HCV in the future, as per a recent study at the University of Oxford. About 2.3 million people worldwide are affected with both HIV and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), with the latter being the non-AIDS cause of death in this population.

According to a paper presented at the 2016 International Liver Congress in Spain, scientists found that giving vaccines for both the incurable viral infections at the same time did not impact the immune response expected from either separately. "This study shows for the first time that it is possible to generate simultaneous immune response against diseases HCV and HIV, raising the possibility of a combined vaccination," Dr. Laurent Castera, secretary general of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL).

The scientists are part of the PEACHI consortium, an initiative that pursues the prevention and treatment of HIV and HCV co-infection. According to them, combining both the vaccines makes sense because the infections have a critical effect on the body's immune response and easily leads to death.

The study further suggests that HIV patients are six times more susceptible to HCV. An individual with both infections needs the right treatment for each, without the respective treatments interacting poorly or interfering with each other.

The scientists enlisted 32 healthy volunteers to conduct the study. One batch of participants was given an HCV investigational vaccine at 0 and 8 weeks of the experiment.

Another group received HIV investigational vaccine at the same time periods as the first batch. The third group of volunteers was administered with both vaccines, and it caused the expected immune response by HIV- and HCV-specific T cells in the recipients. The researchers reported that on being administered together, the vaccines did not seem to impair the immune response to each other.

Two other reports presented at the International Liver Congress found HCV treatment was not affected by HIV infection, which implied that the possibility exists to treat individuals with both infections, even if there are no means to prevent a person from acquiring both.