cows
Researchers are unsure why cows are able to develop antibodies to a virus that is believed to exclusively attack humans; however, they suspect the answer may lie in a cow’s gastrointestinal tract.
Findings from a study published in Nature in July 2017 reveal that scientists are using cows to better understand the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and develop an HIV vaccine.1 After decades of research, including clinical trials of different HIV vaccine candidates,2 there is still no effective vaccine because the virus mutates at a rapid rate and the human body does not produce a strong immune response to it.3

HIV vaccine researchers have yet to figure out why people diagnosed with HIV do not develop antibodies against the virus. It is estimated that only 10 to 20 percent of people produce broadly neutralizing antibodies that defend cells against the virus. Moreover, even among those people who do produce antibodies, the bNAbs only begin to develop after about two years of infection.

According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which has long financially supported HIV vaccine research, "We are faced with a dilemma. People infected do not seem to make really good antibodies in terms of potency and breadth."3

This new study shows that unlike humans, cows are able to develop bNAbs at a faster rate than human beings, even though scientists maintain that cows cannot be infected with HIV.4 Researchers believe that this finding might be the key to manipulating the human immune system to overcome its struggle of developing bNAbs to HIV.

The study's author, Devin Sok, PhD, states:
One approach to a preventive HIV vaccine involves trying to elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies in healthy people, but so far the experiments have been unsuccessful, in both human and animal studies. This experiment demonstrates that not only is it possible to produce these antibodies in animals, but we can do so reliably, quickly, and using a relatively simple immunization strategy when given in the right setting.5
In the study, four cows were injected with HIV immunogens, which are essentially proteins used to trigger an immune response to the virus.3 Analysis from one of the cow's showed that its immune response was able to neutralize 20 percent of the virus in 42 days and 96 percent in 381 days, which is considered to be a quicker and much more effective antibody response when compared to humans.5

Researchers are unsure why cows are able to develop antibodies to a virus that is thought to exclusively attack humans; however, they suspect the answer may lie in a cow's gastrointestinal tract. The multi-chambered guts of cows allow for proper digestion and fermentation of grass.4 It is believed that a large population of bacteria in their guts is responsible for strengthening their immune responses.4

"From the early days of the epidemic, we have recognized that HIV is very good at evading immunity, so exceptional immune systems that naturally produce broadly neutralizing antibodies to HIV are of great interest-whether they belong to humans or cattle," states Dr. Fauci.6

Public health officials working globally with vaccine developers view an HIV/AIDS vaccine as one that would be used universally by everyone in the world to, as Dr. Fauci said in 2013, create the first "AIDS free generation."7 Currently, researchers are testing candidate HIV/AIDS vaccines in South Africa, where one in five people are thought to be infected with the virus, are hoping to prove at least a 50 percent efficacy.8

Larry Corey, MD, principal investigator for the U.S.-based HIV Vaccine Trials Network, the world's largest publicly funded multi-disciplinary international collaboration facilitating the development of HIV/AIDS vaccines, pointed out in a 2016 MedPage Today article that achieving a 50 percent efficacy rate for an HIV/AIDS vaccine "is better than some versions of the influenza virus [vaccines]."9

Commenting on the importance of the HIV/AIDS vaccine trials going on in South Africa, Glenda Gray, President and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council, said, "A vaccine is the ultimate female prevention tool," she said. "You put it in your arm and it works in your vagina."9


Comment: The following comment by Pete was shared on the original article from the Vaccine Reaction website, it contains some valid points and sheds light on the the shoddy scientific methods involved in identifying HIV and the unreliable testing parameters required for a definitive diagnosis:
The H.I.V. deception

I now feel that I can share with you what my father confided in me a few years back, after his retirement.

The antibodies to the virus which has been named HIV by the medical establishment is the remnant of antibodies to an ancient virus which dwell within us all. That's right, we all carry HIV antibodies. None of us carry the 'HIV' virus. However, we can all test positive for HIV antibodies. What ever this virus was in the distant past and whatever its symptoms were is ancient history since as a species we have evolved through it and conquered it. No trace of the actual virus can be found now in any person, only the remnants of the antibodies which are within us all. A human body carries many antibodies to many different ancient viruses, HIV is not the only one, it's all part of our genetic make-up.

This is why when someone goes for an HIV test they are bombarded with questions concerning their sex life and their history of drug use. You see, the test can come back as positive for anyone since we all carry the antibodies, although all people are different and some carry higher concentrations of the antibodies than others.

How the test works is that an antibody count level threshold is established to act as a baseline in determining when the test will be interpreted as positive. This threshold is the guide, anyone with count levels above the baseline will be given a result of positive, those below it will be given a result of negative.

Why is there this need for the questionnaire? If they CAN test for something then they SHOULD simply test for it. If your auto mechanic is checking to see if your brakes need replacing he doesn't ask you if you often carry a lot of female pasengers or drive on lots of winding roads or what your sexual orientation is, he simply inspects the brakes, and by that act alone he can determine their condition.

You see, no actual testing for a virus is being carried out. Again, no one has HIV, everyone has the antibodies.

Anyone can have a positive result. So the questionnaire is used to determine which positive results are taken at face value and which are simply discarded as being a flase positive. Let's look at 2 different people as an example.

A gay man who, through the questionnaire, reveals that he has had unprotected sexual encounters with 150 different men each year for the last 20 years.

A 75 year old woman who has been married to the same man since 1960, is in perfect health, and is only requesting the test because her insurance company requires it of her for the renewal of her live insurance policy.

When the doctors/lab technicians find the gay man to be testing positive, it is assumed that he is. If the 75 year old woman also tests positive, it is assumed to be a false positive and she is given a diagnosis of negative.

If the gay man tests negative, it may be assumed that this is correct but other factors are usually factored in prior to giving a final diagnosis, such as the man's current overall health, and the responses he gave in the questionnaire.

If the 75 year old woman tests negative, it is simply taken for granted as being a correct diagnosis, based on nothing more than her answers in the questionnaire.

The threshold level of the test is not being adjusted differently for each subject. No results are being discovered which couldn't also be found in the rest of the population. The ultimate basis for determination of the patients 'HIV' status comes from their own answers in their questionnaires, not from scientific inquiry.

Illnesses which are assocated with AIDS are not more prevalent in gay men, they are found throughout the population (such as respiratory illnesses, etc), however it is the Gay community which are requesting the bulk of the HIV tests and therefore most of those diagnosed as being positive are Gay. And, when someone with an HIV+ diagnosis dies of one of the many, many illnesses (all of which are well known illnesses which existed long before the 'AIDS epidemic') covered under the umbrella of AIDS it is said that they died of AIDS.

NOW FOR THE REST.

HIV antibodies are totally benign. It is NO indicator of AIDS. There is no conection between the two. HIV is only called an immunodeficiency virus. No one knows what sort of virus it was back in ancient times and it has NO effect on people in this era.

The syndrome or symptoms which are defined as being related to a person having a lowered immune system actually have more to do with lifestyle than anything else. Street drugs are the main culprit for people having poor immune systems. It's not only vaccines which are laced with life-distroying compounds. And while on the topic of vaccines think about this: if someday they claim that they have created a vaccine for HIV, that will mean that people who are given the vaccine will develop the antibodies to HIV. Let that sink in for a moment. They will now have the antibodies that are supposed to mean that they are carrying an always fatal disease. In other words if they get the antibodies from the vaccine, they are saved, but if they develop the antibodies naturally that means they are going to die. Makes no sense, does it? But to the pharmaceutical industry it does; if you pay for your antibodies you'll live, if you get them for free, you'll die. A final point: The illegal drugs trade is another form of population control. My father said, 'don't believe for a minute that a bunch of inner city high-school drop-outs are running the worlds largest, most profitable business'. What he meant was that the drugs trade, both legal and illegal, are controlled from on high by the same group. Those illnesses which are referred to under the umbrella of 'AIDS' are aquired from the use of tainted drugs and rarely but sometimes from a person who themselves has been heavily tainted through drug use. HIV is just a scapegoat to keep the people looking in the wrong direction while the population cull carries on. This has been most effective in Africa where most of the world belives that AIDS is ravaging the continent. Make no mistake, Africans are being decimated but it is not a naturally occuring disease which is responsible for the deaths. I believe that this also aplies to the recent so-called 'Ebola' outbreaks.

Sometimes I think that the HIV scam is there as a gauge to determine when the masses of people start to wake up to the realities of what is being done to them. We are all taught in school that antibodies to a disease are an indication that a person has conquered that disease, that their body has defeated it by making antibodies to the disease itself. This is true. One might call it a golden rule; but you had better not question this one exception (HIV). So why do people continue to believe the sham about HIV being the cause of something (AIDS)? HIV antibodies are no more responsible for the condition of your health than your childhood chickenpox antibodies are, in fact they are less so.

References
  1. Sok D., Le KM, Vadnais M et al. Rapid elicitation of broadly neutralizing antibodies to HIV by immunization in cows. Nature 2017; 548: 108-111.
  2. Sheets RL, Zhou T, Knezevic I. Review of efficacy trials of HIV-1/AIDS vaccines and regulatory lessons learned: A Review from a regulatory perspective. Biologicals 2016; 44:73-89.
  3. Sifferlin A. How Cows Are Helping the Fight Against HIV. TIME July 20, 2017.
  4. 4 Chan A. Cows Could Be Key to Effective HIV/AIDS Vaccine. Tech Times July 22, 2017.
  5. Cow antibodies yield important clues for developing a broadly effective AIDS vaccine. Science Daily July 20, 2017.
  6. Gallagher J. "Mind-blowing" Cows Hold Clue to Beating HIV. BBC News July 21, 2017.
  7. Fauci AS. An AIDS-free generation is closer than we think. The Washington Post July 11, 2013.
  8. Brown RL, Bernstein L. Major HIV vaccine trial in South Africa stokes hope. The Washington Post Nov. 25, 2016.
  9. Smith M. HIV Vaccine Draws Renewed Interest. MedPage Today July 21, 2016.