Molecular evolution of the HIV-1 Thai epidemic between the time of RV144 immunogen selection to the execution of the vaccine efficacy trial.

The RV144 HIV-1 vaccine trial (Thailand, 2003 to 2009), using immunogens genetically matched to the regional epidemic, demonstrated the first evidence of efficacy for an HIV-1 vaccine. Here we studied the molecular evolution of the HIV-1 epidemic from the time of immunogen selection to the execution of the efficacy trial. We studied HIV-1 genetic diversity among 390 volunteers who were deferred from enrollment in RV144 due to preexisting HIV-1 infection using a multiregion hybridization assay, full-genome sequencing, and phylogenetic analyses.

Issues in women's participation in a phase III community HIV vaccine trial in Thailand.

To assess qualities and outcomes of women participating in a large, community-based HIV vaccine trial, the present study was conducted among female participants of the RV 144 prime-boost trial in Thailand from 2003 to 2009. Qualities of participation refer to complete vaccination, retention, and status change. Outcomes of participation refer to incident rate, adverse event, and participation impact event.

Risk behaviour and time as covariates for efficacy of the HIV vaccine regimen ALVAC-HIV (vCP1521) and AIDSVAX B/E: a post-hoc analysis of the Thai phase 3 efficacy trial RV 144.

Background: The Thai phase 3 HIV vaccine trial RV 144 showed modest efficacy of a vaccine against HIV acquisition. Baseline variables of age, sex, marital status, and risk did not modify vaccine efficacy. We did a post-hoc analysis of the trial's data to investigate behavioural risk and efficacy every 6 months after vaccination.

Vaccination with ALVAC and AIDSVAX to prevent HIV-1 infection in Thailand.

Background: The development of a safe and effective vaccine against the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is critical to pandemic control.

Methods: In a community-based, randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled efficacy trial, we evaluated four priming injections of a recombinant canarypox vector vaccine (ALVAC-HIV [vCP1521]) plus two booster injections of a recombinant glycoprotein 120 subunit vaccine (AIDSVAX B/E). The vaccine and placebo injections were administered to 16,402 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 30 years in Rayong and Chon Buri provinces in Thailand.

A phase 1/2 comparative vaccine trial of the safety and immunogenicity of a CRF01_AE (subtype E) candidate vaccine: ALVAC-HIV (vCP1521) prime with oligomeric gp160 (92TH023/LAI-DID) or bivalent gp120 (CM235/SF2) boost.

Background: The development of an effective HIV-1 vaccine is critical to control the pandemic. A prime-boost HIV-1 vaccine trial assessing safety and immunogenicity was conducted in Thailand as part of an evaluation of candidate regimens for a phase 3 efficacy trial.

Methods: ALVAC-HIV (vCP1521), expressing circulating recombinant form 01_AE (CRF01_AE) gp120/subtype B LAI and subtype B Gag/Protease boosted with recombinant envelope oligomeric CRF01_AE gp160 (ogp160) or bivalent CRF01_AE/subtype B gp120 CM235/SF2, was evaluated in a phase 1/II trial of 130 HIV-negative Thai adults.

A group-based intervention to increase condom use among HIV serodiscordant couples in India, Thailand, and Uganda.

This study assessed the feasibility of a group-based couples intervention to increase condom use in HIV serodiscordant couples in three countries (India, Thailand and Uganda). The intervention focused on communication, problem solving, and negotiation skills. Forty-three couples enrolled in the intervention (15 in India, 14 in Thailand, and 14 in Uganda) and 40 couples completed all study activities.

Behavioral and social issues among volunteers in a preventive HIV vaccine trial in Thailand.

Behavioral and social issues were investigated in 363 phase I/II preventive HIV-1 vaccine trial volunteers in Thailand. These issues included risk behavior, HIV knowledge, distress, and social consequences of vaccine trial participation. Data were collected at baseline and at 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow-up visits.

Personal history of voluntary HIV counseling and testing (VCT) among adults aged 19-35 years living in peri-urban communities, Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand.

This study investigates the self-reported history of HIV voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) among adults, aged 19-35 years, in northern Thailand. Participants were interviewed about their HIV testing history and risk behavior. Overall, 47% of 2251 participants had previously been tested, of whom 64% were tested at government clinics.

The natural history of HIV-1 infection in young Thai men after seroconversion.

The natural history and progression of HIV-1 infection in Thailand and other developing countries in Asia and Africa have not been well defined. Nevertheless, valid data are needed to evaluate the effects of interventions, which are designed to delay progression. We evaluated the progression to AIDS and death in 235 men who seroconverted during their 2 years of service in the Royal Thai Army.

HIV incidence and risk behaviours after voluntary HIV counselling and testing (VCT) among adults aged 19-35 years living in peri-urban communities around Chiang Mai city in northern Thailand, 1999.

The Thai government began HIV voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) in all provinces in 1992. We evaluated HIV incidence after participants utilized VCT and its effect on risk behaviours among northern Thai adults aged 19-35 years. A total of 924 men and 1,327 women volunteered to participate in the study.

Safety and immunogenicity of combinations of recombinant subtype E and B human immunodeficiency virus type 1 envelope glycoprotein 120 vaccines in healthy Thai adults.

Safety and immunogenicity of 2 recombinant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 envelope glycoprotein (gp) 120 vaccines derived from SF2 (subtype B) and CM235 (CRF01_AE, Thai E) were evaluated in 370 Thai adults at low risk of HIV infection. Various doses of CM235 (25, 50, or 100 microg) and SF2 (0, 25, or 50 microg) gp120 were used. Eighty volunteers received placebo.

The prevalence of viral hepatitis among the Hmong people of northern Thailand.

Sera from 269 Hmong people (102 males and 167 females, with mean age 35.4 years, range 16-63 years) were examined in order to determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis virus infection. The seroprevalence rates for HAV (hepatitis A virus), HBV (hepatitis B virus), HCV (hepatitis C virus), HDV (hepatitis D virus), HEV (hepatitis E virus), HGV (hepatitis G virus) and TTV (TT virus) infection were 87.

Lifetime correlates associated with amphetamine use among northern Thai men attending STD and HIV anonymous test sites.

Aims: To investigate the demographic, sexual, and other substance use risk correlates of amphetamine use among men in northern Thailand prior to the current epidemic of amphetamine use in the Kingdom.

Design: Cross-sectional quantitative behavioral questionnaires.

Setting: Thai Ministry of Health STD and HIV Anonymous Test Sites in the upper northern provinces of Chiang Mai and Lamphun.

Recruiting volunteers for a multisite phase I/II HIV preventive vaccine trial in Thailand.

Factors believed to be predictive of retention through the recruitment and screening processes for preventive HIV trials were investigated in a large multisite phase I/II HIV vaccine trial in Thailand. Retention through recruitment was equal to or greater than in previous smaller trials with similar populations. The data suggested that recruitment proceeded in a stepwise manner with different influences at each step.

Profiles of HIV voluntary counseling and testing of clients at a district hospital, Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand, from 1995 to 1999.

Voluntary HIV counseling and testing (VCT) is a central component of comprehensive HIV prevention strategies targeting individual risk reduction. VCT data are essential for planning and improving HIV/AIDS intervention strategies. The objective of this study is to describe demographic profiles, reasons for seeking HIV counseling and testing, rate of declining HIV testing after pretest counseling, rate of failure to return for HIV test results, and HIV prevalence and associations among 3570 clients who sought VCT at Sansai Hospital in northern Thailand from 1995 to 1999.

Pesticide exposures among Hmong farmers in Thailand.

Highland Hmong farmers in Thailand have abandoned shifting cultivation of subsistence crops and turned to chemical-intensive cultivation of non-narcotic permanent field cash crops. Three highland communities and Hmong in urban Chiang Mai were studied. Most rural study participants applied chemicals, primarily to control insects, weeds, and fungus, by backpack and machine sprays and by hand.

HIV infection in young men in northern Thailand, 1991-1998: increasing role of injection drug use.

Epidemic HIV-1 infections were first recognized in Thailand in 1988 but increased dramatically in the 1990s primarily as a result of sexual transmission. The Ministry of Public Health instituted programs, including condom promotion during commercial sex, and health education to prevent HIV transmission. We assessed the HIV infection prevalence and risk behaviors among eight cohorts of 21-year-old randomly selected male military conscripts in northern Thailand between 1991 and 1998 to evaluate temporal trends in HIV infection and risk behavior.

Chronic inflammation with increased human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) RNA expression in the vaginal epithelium of HIV-infected Thai women.

Thai residents have a greater risk of heterosexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) than do US residents. To analyze host factors associated with heterosexual transmission, vaginal epithelial biopsies from HIV-seropositive Thai and US women were evaluated for tissue virus load and histologic makeup. In all, 84% of Thai and 14% of US women exhibited a chronic inflammatory T cell infiltrate in the vaginal epithelium.

Preventive intervention to reduce sexually transmitted infections: a field trial in the Royal Thai Army.

Background: During 1991 through 1993, sexually transmitted infections among conscripts in the Royal Thai Army in the upper-northern provinces were common: human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence at induction was 12%, HIV incidence was 2.4% per year, and incidence of sexually transmitted diseases was 17% per year. We evaluated a behavioral intervention to reduce incident sexually transmitted infections among conscripts inducted into the Thai Army in 1993.

A phase I/II trial of HIV SF2 gp120/MF59 vaccine in seronegative thais.AFRIMS-RIHES Vaccine Evaluation Group. Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences and the Research Institute for Health Sciences.

Fifty-two human immunodeficiency virus type 1, seronegative Thai adults from the community were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo controlled, phase I/II trial of HIV SF2 gp120/MF59 vaccine to determine the safety and immunogenicity of this recombinant, B clade, HIV envelope protein vaccine. Twenty-six subjects were enrolled at each of two sites in Thailand, Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Twelve subjects received placebo and 40 subjects received vaccine (50 microg).

Evaluation of behavioral and social issues among Thai HIV vaccine trial volunteers.

Behavioral and social issues were investigated in phase I/II preventive HIV vaccine trial volunteers in Thailand. These included risk behavior, HIV knowledge, distress, and social experiences associated with trial participation. Data were collected at baseline and at 4- and 8-month follow-up visits.

Epidemiologic and biologic characterization of a cohort of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 highly exposed, persistently seronegative female sex workers in northern Thailand. Chiang Mai HEPS Working Group.

Characterization of persons highly exposed to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 who remain uninfected may help define protective immunity. Seventeen HIV-1-seronegative Thai female sex workers (CSWs) with epidemiologic evidence of exposure to HIV-1 were studied for humoral immune responses and phenotypic and genotypic analyses of HLA class I and CCR5 allelic profiles. Infected CSWs and low-risk HIV-1-seronegative Thai women were controls.

Diversification of subtype E human immunodeficiency virus type 1 env in heterosexual seroconverters from Northern Thailand.

The C2-V3 region of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 env was determined from 15 northern Thailand seroconverters between 1993 and 1995. Similar sequences were also determined from 18 seroconverting injection drug users in Baltimore. All seroconverters from northern Thailand were infected with subtype E HIV-1 on the basis of env sequences.