112^th IPU conference in Manila, April 2005

3^rdCommission. Speech of Paul Günter, National Councillor, MD, Switzerland

In the fight against HIV we need a vaccination

1985 (with the test for HIV finally available) we realized with horror, that some of our regular blood donors had HIV. Our first task was therefore the so called “look back” ie the search for patients who had received blood from those infected donors and confront them with the gruel truth, that the lifesaving transfusion had at the same time possibly infected them with a deadly disease.

At this time at the beginning of the fight against HIV there were 2 main fields of action:

• First: to apply the test on every blood unit, to have again transfusions with no HIV-risk
• Second: to Start a campaign targeted at homosexuals (for safer sex) and drug abusers (to use no used needles) because in these 2 groups the disease was rapidly spreading.

In the first field there was rapidly a total success.

In the second field the spread of the disease could be slowed down.

In the next years came the development of new antiviral drugs. When a patient nowadays takes these medicaments regularly and is submitted to the necessary frequent medical controls, he has a good chance to live.

But this is the end of the good news: With all our actions the disease is still spreading - in some countries slower, in other countries rapidly.

Dear colleagues:  In addition to all campaigns for safer sex (which are very necessary) we need an other weapon to fight HIV. What we need is a vaccination against this infection.

Remember that other viral diseases as small pox and poliomyelitis could only get eradicated after the discovery of a potent vaccine.

The finding of this vaccination will not be easy. Until a safe vaccination is found it might go ten years or more: So it is even more important to start immediately with the enforced research.

Our main problem is, that the pharmaceutical industry is not interested in finding such a vaccination. The today’s situation, where a HIV-patient is forced to swallow daily during his whole life some expensive tablets and pills is a profitable one for the firms.

That means, that the main bulk of money for an intensive research must come from the states. We must see in our parliaments, that the annual budget provides much more money for this research and we must urge our governments to seek a close cooperation with other states. In most countries this research is today marginal. For once the United States are a positive exception: They fund the research for a vaccine heavily.

Therefore we must introduce in our resolution the amendment, that we  urge parliaments and governments to finance the development of a vaccine against AIDS.

Without an effective vaccination we will on the long run loose the battle against HIV. We are here in a race against time. Not enough politicians have up to now realized, that we are in a struggle of survival.

I urge You to look that the research for a vaccine against HIV is on the top of the agenda of the priorities of Your respective country.