Newsroom
Ottawa researchers begin trial of H1N1 vaccine with adjuvant in people with HIV
November 10, 2009
Researchers at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa have launched a clinical trial of the pandemic H1N1 vaccine with adjuvant in people with HIV. The trial will include 150 HIV-positive volunteers, half of whom will receive one dose of the H1N1 vaccine and half of whom will receive one dose followed by a booster 21 days later. Immune response to the vaccine will be evaluated, along with possible side effects.
“This study is important because people with HIV and other immune compromising disorders are at greater risk for serious illness from influenza. This research will tell us how to best protect them from H1N1,” said study leader Dr. Curtis Cooper, a clinical investigator at OHRI, infectious disease specialist at The Ottawa Hospital and professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa.
“While people living with HIV are prioritized to receive H1N1 vaccinations, there is no data regarding the pandemic H1N1 vaccine safety or effectiveness in this population,” said Dr. Timothy Rogers, Director of Knowledge Exchange at the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange. “This information is urgently needed. The vaccine to be studied by Dr. Cooper includes an adjuvant which may possess great potential to prevent H1N1 infection and disease in people living with HIV. Dr. Cooper’s research proposal will provide important new knowledge about the safety and effectiveness of an H1N1 vaccine in people living with HIV.”
The study is funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) through the PHAC / CIHR Influenza Research Network. Hospitals in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax will participate.
About the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) is the research arm of The Ottawa Hospital and is an affiliated institute of the University of Ottawa, closely associated with the University’s Faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences. The OHRI includes more than 1,500 scientists, clinical investigators, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and staff conducting research to improve the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human disease. www.ohri.ca
Media Contacts
Jennifer Paterson
Director, Communications and Public Relations
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
613-798-5555 ext. 73325
jpaterson@ohri.ca
