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A newly developed vaccine has the ability to completely kill simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in non-human primates, according to scientists at Oregon Health & Science University’s Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute.

The new approach involves the use of cytomegalovirus, or CMV, a common virus already carried by a large percentage of the population. Dr Picker and his colleagues discovered that pairing CMV with SIV had a unique effect.

Research finding provide compelling evidence for progressive clearance of a pathogenic lentiviral infection, and suggest that some lentiviral reservoirs may be susceptible to the continuous effector memory T-cell-mediated immune surveillance elicited and maintained by cytomegalovirus vectors.

Reference:

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature12519.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24051860

Image Source: ucsf.edu