A Study of Patients Who Develop HIV Infection After Enrolling in HIV Vaccine Trials or HIV Vaccine Preparedness Trials

Despite risk reduction counseling, some individuals in HIV vaccine trials or vaccine preparedness studies may engage in risk behavior that results in HIV infection. The purpose of the HVTN 403 study is to find out more about how persons respond to HIV infection if they have received an experimental HIV-1 vaccine before they became HIV infected.

Some people in HVTN 403 received an experimental HIV vaccine as a participant in a clinical trial before getting infected with HIV. Other people in this study were in a vaccine preparedness study when they got infected with HIV. None of these individuals became infected with HIV as result of their participation in an HIV vaccine or vaccine preparedness study. HVTN 403 will compare immune responses between those who previously received an experimental HIV vaccine and those who did not. Information learned from this study may be important in guiding future developments of new HIV vaccines and other treatments for HIV and AIDS.

It is important to study persons vaccinated with candidate HIV-1 vaccines who have become HIV-1 infected for the following reasons. First, if transient HIV-1 infection is detected and then is effectively suppressed or cleared, it will be important to document the antigenic relationship between the breakthrough virus and the vaccine epitopes to attempt to answer questions about the specificity and breadth of the immune response and the determinants of immunity. A second reason is to gain a better understanding of vaccine-induced responses in those participants who are transiently or persistently HIV-1-infected compared to placebo recipients who become HIV-1-infected. If the vaccine does not prevent HIV-1 infection, it will be important to characterize the course of the disease as measured by longitudinal viral load measurements, CD4+ counts, and clinical symptoms. Understanding the breadth, magnitude, and specificity of the immune response in partially or fully immunized vaccinees after infection and the impact on clinical symptoms and disease progression can potentially result in valuable information for the subsequent design of vaccine efficacy trials and, ultimately, in consideration of potential effectiveness of HIV-1 vaccines.

Study visits occur at Days 0, 7, 14, 28, then at 2 months, 3 months, 6 months, and every 6 months thereafter. At these visits, patients are given a physical exam, blood is drawn, and a donation of genital fluids is requested at certain visits. Patients are asked to donate samples of either semen (men) or cervical secretions (women); viral load is measured and compared to the amount and types of virus in the blood. He/she may refuse to donate these genital fluids and still be eligible to remain in the study. Primary medical care or medications for HIV infection are not provided by this study.