New HIV variant shows urgent need for treatment access
mambaonline.comThe discovery of a new fast-spreading HIV variant in the Netherlands is highlighting the urgency of ensuring that everyone living with HIV is on treatment. The study, led by researchers from the University of Oxford’s Big Data Institute, was the first to discover this highly virulent variant of the subtype-B of HIV which has been circulating for years in the Netherlands.
According to the researchers, the HIV subtype leads to double the rate of immune system decline (CD4 count), higher HIV viral loads (amount of virus in the blood) and increases the chance of developing AIDS two to three times faster after diagnosis compared to other strains of the virus.
While current HIV treatment remains effective against the new variant, that may not always be the case with other possible future variants.
In fact, scientists have long worried about the evolution of new, more transmissible, variants of HIV. In a statement, UNAIDS said that the newly identified variant “does not represent a major public health threat but underscores the urgency of speeding up efforts to halt the HIV pandemic.” The more people who live with HIV without treatment the more likely it is that new variants will develop. “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, a.i. “We urgently need to deploy cutting-edge medical innovations in ways that reach the communities most in need.
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