Scientists at Oxford University have identified 17 cases of infection in the Netherlands with a new, dangerous variant of the human immunodeficiency virus – more infectious (i.e. easier to pass from person to person) and even more destructive to health.
When infected, the HIV virus destroys the patient’s immune system cells (CD4). As a result, their immune defenses gradually weaken, and sooner or later the infected person becomes defenseless against any pathogen. Harmful fungi, viruses, and bacteria proliferate in the patient’s body, meeting virtually no resistance, and that’s when the disease progresses to AIDS. Usually, without the necessary therapy, the patient’s immune protection gradually weakens and disappears within 6-7 years. The new variant of HIV, called VB, leads to the same result almost three times faster – in just two or three years.
One of the reasons for this rapid development is an extremely high viral load, i.e. the concentration of viral particles in the patient’s blood. In patients infected with the VB variant, it exceeds the levels of the “normal” virus by three to five times.
A study published in the journal Science identified 17 carriers of a new variant of the virus: 15 patients from the Netherlands, one from Switzerland, and one from Belgium. Decoding the viral genome revealed numerous mutations scattered throughout the RNA chain.
The authors of the study point out that antiretroviral drugs, which block the virus from replicating in the body, are also effective against this strain of HIV. Therefore, they say, there is no reason to panic.
According to the World Health Organization, there are nearly 38 million people living with an official diagnosis of HIV on the planet, but experts have no doubt that the actual number of infected individuals is much higher. Since the beginning of the epidemic, the virus has claimed the lives of between 27 and 48 million people, depending on the estimate.