HIV/AIDS research in India: past, present and future

June 17, 2010

Udaykumar Ranga1,*, Akhil Banerjea2, Sekhar Chakrabarti3 and

Debashis Mitra4

1Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore 560 064,

India

2National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi 110 067, India

3National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata 700 010, India

4National Centre for Cell Science, Pune 411 007, India

CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 98, NO. 3, 10 FEBRUARY 2010

*For correspondence. (e-mail: udaykumar@...)

Abstract:

Since the first report on the serodiagnosis of HIV-1 infection in 1987, several

laboratories from India have contributed significantly to the knowledge of HIV/

AIDS over the years.

These reports span a wide range of disciplines including serological and

molecular characterization of the viral strains circulating in India;

elucidation and characterization of the recombinant strains; study of the

economic impact of the viral infection; examination of the immune profile of the

host; delineating the natural history of HIV-1/ AIDS; evaluation of the

awareness among general populations; molecular validation of the primary viral

isolates and study of their pathogenic properties including neuro-pathogenesis;

developing and evaluating alternative therapeutic strategies for HIV/AIDS;

vaccine development and validation in human clinical trials, etc.

The quantum of academic research in India is driven mainly by individual

investigators affiliated to research institutions, universities and clinics

spread across the country, with a few research institutes and non-government

organizations making significant contributions.

Given the space restriction and the volume of the research that has appeared in

peer reviewed journals, it would not be possible to encompass all this work in

the present review.

This review primarily focuses on a few basic and application oriented research

reports that appeared over the years from India.

Additionally, attention will be drawn to several other elegantly written reviews

that focused on areas that have not been covered here.

A copy of the article is available at the following url.

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