A recently discovered, aggressive strain of HIV leads to faster development of AIDS than other HIV strains, according to a new study.
More than 60 epidemic strains of HIV-1 exist. This new strain has
the shortest period from infection to the development of AIDS, at about five
years, according to researchers at Lund University, in Sweden.
The new strain is a fusion of the two most common strains in
Guinea-Bissau, a small country in West Africa. It has been identified only in
that region. When two strains join, they form what's called a
"recombinant."
"Recombinants seem to be more vigorous and more aggressive
than the strains from which they developed," doctoral student Angelica
Palm said in a Lund University news release.
Previous research has shown that the global spread of different
recombinants is increasing. Moreover, increasingly mixed and complex HIV
strains are becoming more common in countries and regions with high levels of
immigration, such as the United States and Europe.
The new study was published online recently and will appear in
the print version of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Patrik Medstrand, a professor of clinical virology at Lund
University, said HIV is a dynamic and variable virus.
"New subtypes and recombinant forms of HIV-1 have been
introduced to our part of the world, and it is highly likely that there are a
large number of circulating recombinants of which we know little or
nothing," Medstrand said in the news release. "We therefore need to
be aware of how the HIV-1 epidemic changes over time."
Health care services should be aware that certain HIV types can
be more aggressive than others, the researchers said.
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