Australian scientists a step closer to creating HIV vaccine

Australian scientists say they have taken a step in the "right direction" toward creating a vaccine for HIV.

Researchers from South Australia's University of Adelaide and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital have used a common cold virus to introduce their DNA-based vaccine into the immune system of laboratory mice.

Dr Branka Grubor-Bauk from the University of Adelaide said the team targeted the vaccine in areas in which the HIV infection is most commonly found, and discovered that the testing achieved a "significant reduction" of infection rates in the mice.