Thai volunteers test HIV vaccine.

A group of 30 Thai volunteers received their final injections in a multi-national test of what doctors believe is a promising experimental AIDS vaccine. Dr. Prapan Panupark, director of the project in Thailand, said he was encouraged by initial results of the test conducted on 25 males and five females. The study of the experimental vaccine, known as the United Biomedical Inc. synthetic monovalent HIV-1 peptide, involved healthy volunteers aged from 21 to 48. Prapan told a press conference that participants received their first injections on June 6, 1994, another on July 4, 1994, and their final shot November 28, 1994. He said similar tests are taking place in Brazil and Uganda, which, like Thailand, have been hard-hit by HIV. One month after the second injection, Prapan said, blood tests revealed that out of 24 volunteers receiving the vaccine, 10 had developed immunity. "We are happy that immunity developed in 10 cases out of 24, or over 40%," he said. "We are happy because in similar tests in other countries, such as the US and Australia, only about 20% of the volunteers developed immunity." He said the volunteers will have their blood tested three more times to determine their levels of immunity. According to recently released figures, 3902 people have died of AIDS in Thailand in the past decade. Another 5215 patients are suffering from advanced AIDS in Thailand, while an estimated 600,000 people are believed to be HIV-positive.