Keeping an eye on the virulence of HIV is an important undertaking as approximately 38 million individuals currently cope with the infection. Nevertheless, beyond current studies on SARS-CoV-2 variations, an understanding of the evolution of virulence in viruses beyond theoretical analyses is lacking.
Within the continuous BEEHIVE (Bridging the Epidemiology and Evolution of HIV in Europe) task, Chris Wymant and coworkers identified more than 100 individuals with an unique stress of subtype-B HIV-1– the “VB variation”– which was identified by high viral loads and almost double the rate of CD4 cell decrease compared to individuals with other subtype-B HIV stress.
According to Wymant et al., by the time these individuals were diagnosed, they were vulnerable to establishing AIDS within 2 to 3 years. Additional analysis of the VB variation showed considerable modifications across the genome affecting nearly 300 amino acids, which make comprehending why this particular version is so virulent hard.
” Observing the introduction of more transmissible and virulent HIV is not a public health crisis,” composes Joel Wertheim in an accompanying Perspective, which goes over how and why viruses virulence develops. “Let us not forget the overreaction of the claim of “Super AIDS” in 2005, when alarm was raised over a quickly progressing, multidrug-resistant HIV infection found in New York that was ultimately limited to a single person.”
Wertheim ends the Perspective by talking about how the findings of the study by Wymant and associates pertain to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the evolution of virulence in SARS-CoV-2.
For more on this research study, see Highly Virulent and Destructive New HIV Variant Discovered in the Netherlands.
Reference: “An extremely virulent variant of HIV-1 distributing in the Netherlands” by Chris Wymant, Daniela Bezemer, François Blanquart, Luca Ferretti, Astrid Gall, Matthew Hall, Tanya Golubchik, Margreet Bakker, Swee Hoe Ong, Lele Zhao, David Bonsall, Mariateresa de Cesare, George Mac, Intyre-Cockett, Lucie Abeler-Dörner, Jan Albert, Norbert Bannert, Jacques Fellay, M. Kate Grabowski, Barbara Gunsenheimer-Bartmeyer, Huldrych F. Günthard, Pia Kivelä, Roger D. Kouyos, Oliver Laeyendecker, Laurence Meyer, Kholoud Porter, Matti Ristola, Ard van Sighem, Ben Berkhout, Paul Kellam, Marion Cornelissen, Peter Reiss, Christophe Fraser, the Netherlands ATHENA HIV Observational Cohort and the BEEHIVE Collaboration, 3 February 2022, Science.DOI: 10.1126/ science.abk1688.
An extremely virulent variation of HIV-1 has actually been flowing in the Netherlands for the previous couple of decades, scientists report.
According to the new study, a cluster of more than 100 individuals infected with the subtype revealed remarkably high viral loads, quick CD4 T cell decline, and increased infectivity. While the findings reveal that the HIV family tree likely arose de novo around the turn of the millennium, extensive changes in its genome make it difficult to discern the systems that underlie its raised virulence.