Are animal experiments valuable to AIDS research?

As many doctors and scientists have realized, relying on animal experiments to find cures for human diseases is an impediment to progress. Researchers have spent years trying to develop an animal “model” for AIDS, yet no animal infected with the AIDS virus has ever developed the disease as humans do. Furthermore, the isolation and stressful living conditions of the animals used in this type of research can impair the animals’ immune systems, affecting the results of the experiment.

Progress in understanding AIDS has come from clinical, epidemiological, and in vitro studies. Even assuming that an animal model of AIDS may someday be developed, testing vaccines for the AIDS virus on animals stands little chance of proving that these drugs will be effective or even safe for humans. To learn more, please click here.