Did you know: HIV Vaccine "STEP" faliure

According to the Imperial London College the HIV vaccine trail know as "STEP" was halted in September of 2007 due to adverse affects. Dormant forms of HIV genes where inserted into a adenovirus shell, which we know as the common cold, in hopes that if the patient was to come into contact with the virus are body would be able to recognize the virus and fight it off. I understand that the idea was there, but the adenovirus shell did what it does best to fight off a cold. You see, when you become sick with a common cold your body increases your CD4 T-cell count especially where the virus is most likely to enter, the mucous membranes(i.e vagina, mouth, nose, and gut). Unfortunately, HIV targets CD4-T cells and uses the cells to replicate, so the vaccine just gave the patients more cells for HIV/AIDS to affect and in the most vulnerable areas too. So inadvertently, the patients taking the STEP vaccine where more likely to get infected with HIV/AIDS. I do not understand how the scientists looked past this, and honestly it seems like a pretty dumb mistake on my behalf, but we only learn by making mistakes.

Imperial College London(2009, November 19). HIV vaccine failure probably caused by virus used, says new research. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116165635.htm

My first week with HIV simulations

http://www.aidsmap.com/

Hello everyone,

My name is Jenna, and I will be posting blogs weekly about my experience and some fun facts I have learned through my HIV/AIDS class at the University of Central Florida. This week I did two simulations to try and comprehend what HIV/AIDS patients deal with daily.
First, I did a thrush simulation to try and understand what it felt like to have thrush by inserting cotton balls into my mouth and trying to eat and drink with the cotton balls still in place. If you do not know what thrush is according to Thomason Healthcare Inc. thrush is, "a fungal infection of the oral cavity by fungi Candida, and is also know as oral Candidiasis." I have posted a picture up top of thrush too. The simulation was really eye opening for me too. The cotton balls scratched my mouth up pretty bad, and not only did I choke while trying to eat, but I drooled every time I would try to take a sip of water. Also thrush could lead to further problems like malnutrition, because who would really want to eat if it was that difficult, and the infection could spread throughout the body possibly leading to worse infections. This made it really easy for me to realize how easy day to day things could become so difficult, and how troubling it must be to live with HIV/AIDS.
Second, I did a PCP simulation(Pneumocystis Carnii Pneumonia) where I had a friend hold a pillow over my face just sightly to where it was difficult to breathe, but I would not suffocate. According to the U.S. Library of Medicine PCP is, " A pneumonia caused by the fungal organism Pneumocystis Carnii, and is also know as Pneunmocystis Jiroveci." While doing this simulation it was really uncomfortable and hard to breathe, and I cannot image what a patient would go though feeling like they could never take a full breathe without coughing up a storm. After doing this simulation I quickly realized how hard it must be for an HIV/AIDS patient to stay active or even walk a short distance. Also with PCP patients the infections can move throughout the body causing greater problems.
HIV/AIDS patients go through a lot of medical issues and I cannot imagine the mental difficulties they go through too. To have your mouth covered in a fungus that makes it difficult to eat and drink, and to most likely have a fungal infection of the lungs to where it feels like you cannot breathe half the time too. I could not imagine having to live like that it has to take a very strong person to live with HIV/AIDS and I hope to learn more about living with HIV/AIDS throughout this course.

Sources
"Oral candidiasis."CareNotes.Thomson Healthcare, Inc.,2009. Health Reference Center Academic. Web. Retrieved 11 Jan. 2010. http://find.galegroup.com/tx.start.do?prodld=HRCA&userGroupName=lincclin_bcc.
A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health. (2007, November 1st). Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Retrieved January 14th, 2010, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000671.htm.