Short communication: Long-term persistence of vaccine-induced HIV seropositivity among healthy volunteers.

Long-term persistence of HIV vaccine-induced seropositivity in uninfected HIV vaccine recipients remains unknown. The duration of HIV humoral-induced responses was assessed in 72 volunteers who had received rgp160 and/or HIV recombinant canarypox virus constructs able to induce immune responses detectable using standard serological tests. Among the 43 rgp160 recipients, 94% and 83% remained HIV seropositive after 5 and 8 years of follow-up, respectively, while all the 29 volunteers who had received canarypox constructs alone were seronegative after 5 years. Because rgp160 induces long-term persistence (>8 years) of vaccine-induced HIV seropositivity, volunteers should be offered long-term follow-up to monitor their serological evolution.