New Aggressive HIV Strain Detected In Cuba

A new HIV strain in a few patients in Cuba appears to be much more aggressive and may develop into AIDS within 3 years of infection. Researchers said this progression happens so fast of which treatment with antiretroviral drugs can come too late.

Without treatment, HIV infection normally takes 5 to 10 years to turn into AIDS, in accordance with Anne-Mieke Vandamme, a medical professor in Belgium's University of Leuvan. In accordance with the study, published in the journal EBioMedicine, Vandamme was alerted towards the new aggressive strain of HIV through Cuban health officials who wanted to discover what was happening.

"So this group of patients that progressed very quickly, they were all just lately infected, " Vandamme told Voice of America. "And we realize that because they was HIV negative tested one or maybe a maximum two years before. "

None of the sufferers had received treatment for that virus, and all of the patients infected with this mutated strain of HIV developed AIDS within 3 years.

While fast progression regarding HIV to AIDS is usually the consequence of the patient's weak immune system rather than this particular subtype of HIV, what's happening in Cuba differs.

"Here we had the variant of HIV that we found only in the group which was progressing fast. Not in another two groups. We focused in on this variant [and] tried to discover what was different. And we saw it had been a recombinant of 3 different subtypes. "

The newest variant, named CRF19, is a mixture of HIV subtypes A, D and G.

HIV usually infects cells by attaching itself to what is called the co-receptor, and the transition to AIDS usually occurs once the virus switches -- after several years -- from co-receptor CCR5 to co-receptor CXCR4. The newest strain makes the switch considerably faster.

The variant has become observed in Africa, but in too few cases to be totally studied. Researchers said the strain is more widespread within Cuba.

Even though the aggressive form of HIV responds to the majority of antiretroviral drugs, people may not understand they have AIDS until it is too late for treatment to do any good. Vandamme said it's important for people having unprotected sex with multiple partners to become tested for HIV early and frequently.

Source:: The atop story is based on materials provided by UPI and image credit also.