Highly Contagious And Damaging HIV Variant Found In Netherlands Can Increase AIDS Risk By Three Folds
Even as the world is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers from the Netherlands have detected a new, highly virulent HIV variant which is believed to be more transmissible and damaging. According to the experts, the study results showed that individuals who were living with this virulent variant of HIV (subtype-B of HIV) can experience double the rate of immune system decline (CD4 count).
The study, led by researchers from the University of Oxford's Big Data Institute, showed that these people who are infected by the subtype-B of HIV have higher viral loads (amount of virus in the blood) and are also vulnerable to developing AIDS two to three times faster after diagnosis than if they were living with other strains of the virus.
No, according to the researchers, this variant of HIV has been circulating in the Netherlands for years and remains receptive to HIV treatment.
Well, as discussed above, this variant was circulating for years now. Therefore, speaking to the media, the UNAIDS said in a statement that even though the newly identified variant does not represent a major public health threat, it "underscores the urgency of speeding up efforts to halt the HIV pandemic".
The world has seen several pandemics in the past, some remained as a part of the environment, and some wanned. The HIV pandemic continues to take a life every minute and scientists have long worried about the evolution of new, more transmissible, variants of HIV. "Ten million people living with HIV worldwide are not yet on treatment, fuelling the continued spread of the virus and potential for further variants," said Eamonn Murphy, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme, in the statement.
According to the experts, there is an urgent requirement of deploying some cutting-edge medical innovations in ways that reach the communities most in need". Speaking to the media, Murphy said, "Whether it's HIV treatment or Covid-19 vaccines, inequalities in access are perpetuating pandemics in ways that harm us all."
With an estimated 79 million people infected, HIV remains the deadliest pandemic of our time, the UNAIDS said. It still has no vaccine or cure. The treatment is only antiretroviral therapy, which keeps them alive and well and prevents transmission of the virus.
But the Covid pandemic has affected the treatment, leading to the death of some 36 million people from AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the pandemic. About 1.5 million people were newly infected with HIV in 2020. Of the 38 million people living with HIV today, 28 million are on life-saving antiretroviral therapy.
