- A new strain of HIV has been discovered in the Netherlands.
- The strain dubbed the VB variant appears to lead to more severe disease more quickly.
- People with this strain also tended to have a higher viral load.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that mutations in a virus can significantly change a pathogen’s infectiousness and severity of disease.
Now, new研究牛津大学从牛津大学发现了一种新的艾滋病毒变体，这是引起艾滋病的病毒，它可能更具感染力，并可能更严重地影响免疫系统。
So far, 109 people, most of whom live in the Netherlands, have the variant.
The new strain, called the VB variant, damages the immune system, weakening people’s ability to fight everyday infections and diseases much faster than the previous HIV strains, scientists say.
It also means that people who contract the new变体可能会更快地发展艾滋病。
研究人员还发现，VB的病毒载量（血液中检测到的病毒量）比目前的菌株高3.5至5.5倍，表明它也可能更具传染性。
研究人员说，患有这种变体的人的CD4+T细胞下降（艾滋病毒免疫损害的迹象）的速度是两倍。
“By the time they were diagnosed, these individuals were vulnerable to developing AIDS within 2 to 3 years,” study authors写.
Absent treatment, critically low CD4 cell counts “with long-term clinical consequences” is expected to happen 9 months after diagnosis on average for people in their 30s with VB variant, they said.
“ VB变体能够促进传播，损害免疫系统和中断治疗的能力，提醒病毒随着时间的流逝而发展的智能。”Anthony J. Santella, DrPH, MCHES, professor of Health Administration and Policy at the University of New Haven.
当被问及有关高危人群测试建议的变体意味着什么，William A. Haseltine, PhD, chair and president of the global health think tank ACCESS Health International, said it depends on people’s behavior.
Haseltine说：“我在艾滋病的早期就学会了人类行为比我预期的要多得多。”Variants: The Shape-Shifting Challenge of COVID-19.
他说，这取决于您的活动以及您有多少不同的伴侣，并补充说，有多个伴侣的人应该经常进行HIV测试。
彼得·皮茨出于公共利益，前FDA副专员兼医学中心主席说，他认为VB并不是引起警报的原因。
“I think it’s a cause for renewed focus,” he said. “We’ve really been able to move HIV, AIDS, from a deadly disease to a chronic one.
他继续说：“与病毒的战斗是永无止境的。”“我认为从公共卫生的角度来看，我们应该专注于预防性护理。”
皮茨补充说，他认为Covid-19的一课是测试是一种“对病毒的无关紧要的武器”，它应该提醒我们，通过更定期测试，我们可以开发新的，更复杂且较便宜的测试。
Dr. Carl Fichtenbaum，辛辛那提大学医学院传染病科临床医学教授告诉Healthline，已经知道有些人比其他人更快地病了。雷竞技app官网
“amount of virus measured in a drop of blood is a surrogate of disease progression. The higher the amount, the more likely someone will progress and become ill,” Fichtenbaum told Healthline.
他说：“我们怀疑很多时候这是因为他们获得的艾滋病毒类型更具侵略性或毒气。”“无论变化如何，我们的实践都是相同的 - 立即进行测试并开始治疗。”
他指出，“没有证据表明目前的治疗都无法正常工作。
Fichtenbaum explained that reducing the risk of infection begins with sex with a condom or other barrier method.
“通过首先接受测试，了解您的艾滋病毒状况和与之发生性关系的状况；使用避孕套做爱；不要共享任何针刺或用具注射药物的用具。”他说。“那些处于较高风险的人可以使用PREP或暴露前预防。”
Fichtenbaum said FDA-approved treatments for people living with HIV include a tenofovir/emtricitabine combination tablet daily and cabotegravir injections every 2 months.
“Those individuals that have HIV can take their medications and be ‘undetectable’ on their viral load, which eliminates the chance of HIV transmission,” he said. “Hence the slogan U=U; undetectable equals untransmittable.”
研究人员发现了一种称为VB的艾滋病毒的新变体。该变体比当前的HIV菌株更具感染性和传播性。
专家说，VB没有引起警报的原因，目前的治疗仍然对病毒有效。
They also say that the best way to avoid contracting or transmitting the virus includes sex with a condom or other barrier method and PrEP medication.