Cuba: Scientists discover new aggressive strain of HIV

By Caribbean Medical News Staff
Cuban scientists have found a new, aggressive strain of the human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Cuba. They say the progression to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is so fast that patients may not even know they are infected before symptoms are present.
Past research shows that the normal HIV infection usually attaches to proteins on the membranes of cells known as CCR5 before it is able to penetrate the cell. The patient infected with HIV-infected may experience a number of healthy years before the virus becomes CXCR4, which quickly progresses to AIDS.
Multiple strains of HIV virus present
The Cuban doctors’ assessment of their finding on this aggressive form of HIV is regarded as a “recombinant” version of the virus, which can occur if a person engages in unprotected sex with numerous infected partners and contracts multiple strains of the HIV virus, which then combine to form the new HIV strain.
In a cohort study, researchers compared patients who recently became infected with the recombinant form of HIV versus patients who had progressed to AIDS after the normal period of infection. They found that the recombinant HIV patients had abnormally high doses of the virus as well as high numbers of defensive molecules when (Regulated on Activation, Normal T cell Expressed and Secreted). This process is referred to as RANTES.
Scientists found that in the new strain, HIV makes the transition to CXCR4 faster than in the other strains, resulting in a shorter life expectancy for the infected person. In a mere three years, the new strain can progress to AIDS, according to the researchers.
People, who engage in unprotected sex with multiple partners, are strongly encouraged by experts to get tested as soon as possible so that treatment can be quickly administered. Early detection will give them a longer chance of living, they said.