
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 6, 1993                   TAG: 9305060243
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

PREGNANT WOMEN TO TRY ANTI-AIDS TEST VACCINE

Experimental AIDS vaccines will be given to HIV-infected pregnant women to test if the drugs are safe and if newborns can be protected from the fatal disease, federal health officials announced Wednesday.

Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala said the candidate vaccines are being tested for their ability to stimulate an anti-virus response in women who have HIV and to find out if this response is passed on the babies the women are carrying.

About 75 percent of babies born to women infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, never develop the HIV disease. It's unknown why some babies get the disease, while others do not, but HHS scientists said HIV is thought to be transmitted late in pregnancy or during the birth process.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it is hoped that the candidate vaccines trigger antibodies that will not only help the mother but also cross into the baby and protect it from HIV.

by CNB