According to scientists, the fight against the HIV virus could take another turn with the appearance of a new strain. A new strain of HIV that is said to be “super-mutant” and that makes infected people sick twice as fast as current versions of the virus. A hundred cases already detected in a Scandinavian country.
Called Variant VB, the new mutant strain of HIV was found by researchers at the University of Oxford. According to the Daily Mail which takes up the information, the new virus is present in Holland where it has already infected 109 people. According to the researchers, the new strain damages the immune system faster and weakens a person’s ability to fight infections and everyday illnesses faster than previous versions of the virus.
In a nutshell, this new virus can lead to the rapid development of AIDS. A worrying prospect at a time when happy news pointed to the discovery and development of a new vaccine. Indeed, the study indicates that the VB variant has a viral load between 3.5 and 5.5 times higher than the current strain. This is not very pleasant news in that infected people are more likely to transmit the virus to others.
Good news in this gloom, the study confirms that people with the variant recover quickly, if treatment is administered earlier. In addition, they also have an immune system survival rate similar to those infected with other strains of HIV. In addition, independent experts said the discovery was not necessarily new and that we should remain calm. According to them, the VB mutant appeared in the 1980s and has been in decline since 2010.
Source: Afrikmag