Saturday, February 5, 2022 – 10:30 WIB
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VIVA – Recently the newest variant of HIV virus which causes AIDS found in Dutch. The HIV virus is said to be faster in infecting and spreading than other versions of the virus. Human immunodeficiency the virus (HIV) infects and destroys immune cells called CD4 cells in the body, causing the number of these cells to drop dramatically. If left untreated, the infection then progresses to AIDS.
In people infected with a newly discovered variant of HIV, called the VB variant, CD4 cell counts fell about twice as much as in people infected with the closely related strain of HIV, meaning those of the subtype genetic the same (B).
In a report by researchers in the journal Science on Thursday, February 3, a person exposed to the VB variant of HIV who did not get treatment within two to years after being diagnosed with HIV the variant will develop into AIDS. This is in contrast to other versions of the virus, which occur on average about six to seven years after an HIV diagnosis.
“We found that on average, individuals with this variant were expected to progress from diagnosis to ‘advanced HIV’ within nine months, if they did not start treatment and if diagnosed in their thirties,” said the first author and a senior researcher in statistical genetics. and pathogen dynamics at the University of Oxford, Chris Wymant told Live Science.
Fortunately, in their study, the team found that antiretroviral drugs, the standard treatment for HIV, worked just as well against the VB variant as they did against other versions of the virus.
“For someone who is successful in treatment, the decline in the immune system to AIDS is stopped, and the transmission of their virus to other people is stopped,” Wymant said.
Katie Atkins, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the authors used case studies to support the importance of universal access to treatment.
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