Friday, August 18 2006 14:12 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Beijing: Clinical trials indicate China's first AIDS vaccine is safe and possibly effective, a government official claimed here today (Aug 18, 2006).

Forty-nine healthy people who received the injection showed no serious adverse reactions after 180 days, proving the vaccine was safe, the official said.

The recipients appeared immune to the HIV-1 virus 15 days after the injection, indicating the vaccine worked well in stimulating the body's immunity, the state-run sources quoted the unnamed official as saying.

The results mark the end of the first phase of the clinical trials of the AIDS vaccine, it said.

China has an estimated 650,000 known HIV/AIDS cases, with 75,000 known AIDS patients, according to China's Health Ministry in January.

International health agencies have warned China that it stood on the brink of an explosive AIDS epidemic. Several estimates including those by the UN show that the number of HIV infected people could soar to 10 million by the end of the decade if there is no effective action.