The eighth and last group of volunteers to receive a Chinese-developed potential HIV/AIDS vaccine reported no ill effects after one day’s observation, a local health official said yesterday.

"The first 24 hours are a vital period for observation," said Chen Jie, deputy director of the disease prevention and control center in Nanning, capital of southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

"So far, no volunteers have reported ill reactions. They have entered a relatively stable period for observation," he said.

The group of 15 were vaccinated with the trial vaccine on Saturday, the last of 49 people aged between 18 and 50 involved in human trials that began on March 12.

Volunteers’ progress will be monitored until June and the clinical data collected will be used to decide whether the center will proceed to the second phase of testing, said Chen.

The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) approved the first phase of clinical research for the vaccine on November 25 last year.

As of January, there had been about 35 clinical HIV/AIDS vaccine trials throughout the world, most of which are still in the initial phase.

(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2005)