Highly transmissible HIV variant circulating in Netherlands, claims study

A highly transmissible and damaging variant of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been circulating in the Netherlands for several decades, researchers have claimed. The analysis of over 100 infected people suggested that the variant increases the number of viral particles in the blood which can make the infected individuals more likely to further transmit the pathogen. 

The study, ‘A highly virulent variant of HIV-1 circulating in the Netherlands’, published on Science on Thursday, stated that the HIV variant also appears to lead to a reduction in immune cells called CD4 T cells. This further puts the people at risk of developing acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) more rapidly than the infected individuals. 

According to a report by Nature, Joel Wertheim, an evolutionary biologist and molecular epidemiologist at the University of California San Diego has said that the emergence of a more ‘virulent’ sub-variant of HIV is “a reason to stay vigilant” but added, “All of the tools in our arsenal should still work”. The findings of the study of HIV variants indicates that viruses do not always evolve to become less transmissible with time. 

Since the Omicron variant of coronavirus is mainly known to cause mild symptoms of COVID-19, it has also fuelled the baseless narrative that pathogens get less deadly with time. But, Nature quoted Emma Hodcroft, a molecular epidemiologist at the University of Bern as saying, “this is not how it works”. Hodcroft noted that even though HIV and SARS-CoV-2 are different in several ways, “it’s not a given that SARS-CoV-2 will become milder.”

US researchers claim to be a step closer to finding HIV cure

The latest study uncovering a sub-variant of HIV spreading in the Netherlands for decades was published just days after the United States' researchers claimed that they have moved a step closer to finding the cure of AIDS. University of California researchers focussed on the infected cells which might be dormant in the body and worked on a strategy devised in 2017 to "Kick And Kill" hidden HIV-infected cells using the cells which are naturally produced by the body's immune system. In a news statement, Jocelyn Kim, the study's principal author, said, "These findings show proof-of-concept for a therapeutic strategy to potentially eliminate HIV from the body, a task that had been nearly insurmountable for many years. The study opens a new paradigm for a possible HIV cure in the future."

(Image: Unsplash/Representative)