There were two massively important news stories this week regarding HIV/AIDS that deserve far more attention that I believe either has received. I’m ordering them as follows for several reasons, even though the second may be seen by some as the more important story of the two.
Virulent HIV strain found in Cuba
One of the reasons HIV has been hard to eliminate with a vaccine is that it mutates and there are a number of strains of HIV. In Cuba, a new very virulent strain has been found which this article talks about it.
Generally speaking, after a person becomes infected with HIV, the disease can take up to about 10 years to grow into full blown AIDS. But this new strain is different. This quote is from the researcher looking at this who published the findings, Dr Vandamme:
“Here, all patients in our cohort infected with a virus from the CRF19 variant progress to Aids within 3 years. This is the first variant where this has been noted.”
That this strain has been found in Cuba is a bit scary, but there isn’t too much worry that it will spread outside of Cuba. The number of people who are infected with the strain is relatively small, and transport in and out of Cuba still limited enough, but that is no guarantee. The researchers are increasing their study size as well to get a better handle on the danger this strain poses.
Here are some of my thoughts about how to interpret this:
- HIV is a highly mutable virus, and some claim that it is no longer a tremendous threat because of PrEP and today’s treatment drugs. But the reality is the epidemic is far from over, and everyone needs to be concerned about stopping the spread of HIV.
- Being tested often and practicing behaviors that minimize your potential exposure to HIV is the best way to take care of yourself and everyone else. My suggestion is to be tested every 3 months if you are sexually active. You and your doctor ought to discuss what is best for you specifically in terms of how often to be tested.
- HIV and AIDS is everywhere around the globe and affects men and women. Do not get caught up in the anti-gay rhetoric which treats HIV as a gay thing, because it isn’t.
Possible HIV prevention strategy possible vaccine alternative
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/289611.php
Especially put back to back with the above story, this one may seem like the long anticipated answer to the HIV problem (and it may be), that is being touted as a vaccine alternative. Researchers at Scripps Research Institute have created a designer drug which keeps the HIV virus from entering cells and turning them into HIV factories:
…the scientists designed a protein that mimics the receptor and simultaneously binds to two sites on the surface of the virus, which prevents it from entering a host cell.
This may mean that even though HIV enters a person’s body, it has no way to infect cells and is therefor kept from being dangerous. This is big news, but the research is still in fairly early stages. The article describes it as being years away from testing in humans.