JOHANNESBURG, Aug 12: South Africa hopes to begin testing a preventative AIDS vaccine on teenagers under a new programme announced on Thursday that targets the group highest at risk.

"At the moment we think our best shot is at preventative treatment," spokeswoman for the South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI) Michelle Galloway said. "There's an international move toward teenagers. Scientists are saying that at some point we are going to have to involve teenagers in trials because they are the most at risk group," she said.

SAAVI, established by the health ministry to coordinate research and testing of AIDS vaccines, is currently testing two preventative AIDS vaccine candidates in South Africa. The trials are expected to take up to 10 years.

"We don't want to end up with a vaccine that won't work in teenagers because it is believed that their high level of hormonal changes may impact on the effectiveness of a vaccine," said Galloway.

SAAVI and the Nelson Mandela Foundation announced on Thursday that they would work together on the project. "Both organizations have youth as one of their key constituencies," SAAVI director Tim Tucker said in a statement.

"As a result, the focus of this partnership between SAAVI and the Nelson Mandela Foundation will be... the responsible involvement of adolescents in HIV vaccine trials." The Nelson Mandela Foundation was created by the anti-apartheid icon to promote democracy and development and is involved in several AIDS awareness and research campaigns.

"Our partnership with SAAVI will enable us to harness the best minds in the vaccine area, in the development of a meaningful prevention based response to the epidemic," said John Samuel, chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Galloway said the partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation involved sharing of resources, skills and information, and "further down the line probably some direct funding". -AFP