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Nairobi prostitutes may hold key to AIDS vaccine
October 25, 1997
Web posted at: 3:56 p.m. EDT (1956 GMT)NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- A number of prostitutes who appear to be immune to AIDS may hold the key to developing a vaccine to fight the disease. Scientists suspect that their genetic makeup may help researchers develop an AIDS vaccine.
AIDS is one of the major fatal diseases in the slums of Kenya's capital of Nairobi, where prostitutes have the highest risk of contracting the HIV virus that causes AIDS.
Many of the women are forced to sell their bodies to support their children.
Hadija Chemutai, for instance, earns 40 cents a turn. Most of her friends have been infected by HIV.
"It has been so difficult for me, because you see people around you go down with HIV and AIDS, and it's a natural fear that one day my blood will turn positive and I will die," she said.
Hadija and her 34-year-old cousin Hawa Chelangat, who is also a prostitute, are regular visitors to a clinic in Nairobi's Majengo slum. So far, both have avoided becoming ill.
Doctors at the clinic have been astounded by the number of prostitutes that are AIDS-free. There are about 60 of the women in the Nairobi area, and most are related.
"We think it could be some genetic makeup, but it could be a combination of several factors. They could be immune to a combination of things, and HIV is just one of them," Dr. Joshua Kimani said.
And that is just what researchers at the University of Nairobi Medical School are trying to find out.
For more than 10 years, they have been investigating the AIDS virus. The apparent immunity of the prostitutes has provided their best lead in the hunt for a possible vaccine.
"Most successful human vaccines have been developed on the basis of understanding natural immunity. If you understand how natural immunity happens, you can duplicate it through making a vaccine that imitates natural immunity," said Dr. Frank Plummer of the University of Nairobi Medical School.
Prostitutes like Hawa say their immunity so far is due to divine intervention. "I feel because my blood has remained good, it is a blessing from God."
But as the painstaking research continues, the death toll from AIDS keeps rising across Africa. And there is no guarantee that prostitutes like Hadija will be spared. Her resistance to HIV could deteriorate, doctors say.
But she, like many others in her profession, has no other choice than to ply her deadly trade.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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