Scientists have for the first time found AIDS patients infected simultaneously with two different forms of drug-resistant HIV. This infection with a second HIV virus is called superinfection. ”These emerging drug resistant viruses present a treatment challenge and the existing drug cocktails will need to be tailored accordingly.”From McGill AIDS Centre :
New HIV findings
Researchers show HIV patients may be infected with more than one type of HIV
Some HIV patients may be plagued by more than one type of HIV infection according to researchers at the McGill AIDS Centre, Sir Mortimer B. Davis – Jewish General Hospital and the McGill University Health Centre. They have shown that some patients may be susceptible to a second infection with another HIV virus including viruses resistant to drugs. This infection with a second HIV virus is called superinfection.
”This is the first time we have seen a patient infected with two different forms of drug-resistant HIV,” says MUHC clinician Dr. Jean-Pierre Routy, an associate professor of Medicine at McGill University and co-author of the study. ”These emerging drug resistant viruses present a treatment challenge and the existing drug cocktails will need to be tailored accordingly.”
”Our findings are different than those previously published, ” says Sir Mortimer B. Davis – Jewish General Hospital clinician Dr. Mark Wainberg, a professor of Medicine at McGill University and senior author of the study. ”We originally believed, once an individual was infected with one type of HIV they became immune to another HIV infection. Our findings clearly show that this is not the case and will have widespread implications for HIV management, diagnosis and prognosis.”
This groundbreaking news is in part due to the development of a new technical tool that permits cloning of the virus.
ScienceBlog.com has no paywalls, no sponsored content, and no agenda beyond getting the science right. Every story here is written to inform, not to impress an advertiser or push a point of view.
Good science journalism takes time — reading the papers, checking the claims, finding researchers who can put findings in context. We do that work because we think it matters.
If you find this site useful, consider supporting it with a donation. Even a few dollars a month helps keep the coverage independent and free for everyone.