India has the second highest number of documented AIDS cases in the world with more than five million Indians suffering from the disease. Now, the nation has announced that they will begin testing a new vaccine using human volunteers for the first time.

The tests will take place in the city of Pune and will involve 30 volunteers of both sexes between the ages of 18 and 45 who are HIV free.

'The volunteers have been made aware of the risks involved, they have been counseled and their health status will be monitored all the time,' indicated NK Ganguly, the director of the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Thus far, all attempts at a successful HIV vaccine in humans have been unsuccessful due to the virus's ability to mutate so quickly. The vaccine being tested was developed by a company based in Seattle, Washington called Targeted Genetics and by the Columbus Children's Research Institute. It is hoped that the vaccine will stimulate the subjects' immune system and give them protection against HIV infection.

'We've started the first phase of clinical trials, but 85% of our focus is still going to be on prevention,' India's Health Minister, Anbumani Ramadoss said. 'Developing a vaccine to prevent Aids is one of the most difficult scientific challenges of our time. It is also one of the most urgent health needs.'

The fight is an urgent one. SY Qureshi of India's National Aids Control Organization indicated that 'There are 68 new cases of HIV every hour' in India. For millions of people world-wide, time is running out.