Experimental HIV vaccine trial begins in KZN

It's aimed at reducing the number of new daily HIV infections in South Africa - which currently stands at over a thousand.

The vaccine trial - known as HVTN 702 - follows on the success of another trial in Thailand seven years ago, which saw recipients of the vaccine having a 31% lower risk of HIV infection.

The regiment was altered for the strain of HIV that's common in South Africa.

Two volunteers have received their initial injections at the Verulam site, north of Durban, today.

Director of the HIV Prevention Research Unit of the Medical Research Council - Professor Gita Ramjee - says the results of the study will only be concluded in five to six years.

"It's 5400 volunteers. Out of those, half will be enrolled into a placebo - the other half will be getting the active, real vaccine. These people when then be followed-up - for the first time it will be the first three months, then every quarter. And at one year we will give them a booster vaccination. And once that is done, they will be followed-up for a maximum of 36 months. The total study is going to last over 60 months," she said.

HVTN 702 begins just months after interim results were reported for HVTN 100, its predecessor clinical trial - which found that the new vaccine regimen was safe for the original group of 252 study participants.