HIV virus 'may be weakening'

Sunday, 12 February 2012

HIV virus 'may be weakening'

30 September 2005 | EN | 中文

HIV may be getting weaker

Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory

HIV may be getting less potent, say researchers in the 14 October issue of the journal AIDS.

In a BBC Online article, they caution that although their finding suggests the virus is becoming less harmful to people, it should not lead to complacency in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

After comparing samples of the virus from 1986-89 and 2002-03, they found that newer samples did not replicate as well and were more sensitive to drugs compared to older ones.

HIV experts say that the virus appears to be changing to become less lethal as it spreads through human populations.

This form of adaptation is a tactic that other harmful organisms use to ensure their survival: every time a virus or bacterium kills its host, it reduces its chance of replicating.

HIV seems to be trying to strike a balance that ensures it is spread as widely as possible, but without hindering its own reproduction.

Link to abstract of paper in AIDS

Link to full article on BBC Online

Reference: AIDS 19, 1555 (2005)

Add your comment

This is your network: share your views on any of our articles by adding your comments.

Comment

You need to be signed in to post a comment or to email a consenting comment author. Please sign in or sign up.

Email me when someone responds to the discussion

All comments are subject to approval and we reserve the right to edit comments containing inappropriate/unsuitable language. SciDev.Net holds copyright for all material posted on the website. Please see terms of use for further details.

All SciDev.Net material is free to reproduce providing that the source and author are appropriately credited. For further details see Creative Commons.

Back to News
To the top