A recent study conducted in nearly a dozen countries reported the appearance of a new variant of HIV in more than a hundred patients. However, this variant is more virulent and more transmissible than the others, also allowing the disease to declare itself much earlier.
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus responsible for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in humans. In September 2021, an experimental vaccine against HIV undergoing a phase 2 clinical trial in Africa by Johnson &Johnson failed. A few months earlier, Moderna announced the start of a phase I trial for a messenger RNA vaccine.
However, this virus was again talked about on February 3, 2022 in the journal Science. Researchers from the University of Oxford (UK) say they have identified a new variant of HIV . They conducted a study on more than 7,000 HIV-positive samples in nine different countries. According to the results, the new variant appeared in 109 patients . The researchers underline the fact that the variant in question, whose name is VB, is more contagious and more serious . However, the antiretroviral treatments currently in force would remain just as effective.
You should know that the VB variant has different characteristics from other strains of HIV. Infected people have a viral load between 3.5 and 5.5 times higher than others and their T4 cells have a faster decline. Thus, the risk of contracting AIDS is greater and in case of onset, the disease declares itself earlier, namely after about nine months against two to three years usually.
The researchers analyzed the variant's genetic material. The fact is that the latter has a lot of mutations . It is estimated that this same variant emerged in the Netherlands in the 1980s and 1990s before spreading rapidly in the 2000s. Nevertheless, the generalization of antiretroviral treatment over the next decade slowed its progress.
Chris Wymant, the lead author of the study, reminds us that discovering new variants of HIV is not something exceptional in itself. On the other hand, discovering one with such characteristics is unusual, especially when it comes to greater virulence. Further studies should now be conducted to learn more about the VB variant, particularly with regard to its virulence and transmissibility .
