Those living with the newly revealed subtype had a doubled rate of immune system decline (measured by the CD4 level of the infecting T cell) and had a higher viral load.
They also are two to three times more likely to develop AIDS after diagnosis than if they are living with other strains of the virus.
The study also revealed that variation has been circulating in the Netherlands for many years and continues to be treated.
The study, led by researchers from the University of Oxford’s Big Data Institute, is the first to report on the virus’s class B classification.
Treatment still works
Follow arrive UNAIDS In a press statement, the finding underscores the urgency to “stop the pandemic and reach all and reach all through testing and treatment.”
The protracted HIV pandemic continues to take lives by the minute, and scientists have long worried about the development of new, more contagious variants of the virus.
According to UNAIDS, the newly identified variant does not pose a major threat to public health but highlights the urgency of accelerating UN efforts to end AIDS.
In a statement, Executive Vice President of the Program, Eamonn Murphy, noted that about 10 million people living with HIV are still not on ART. “Promoting the continued spread of the virus and the potential for other variants.”
“We urgently need to deploy cutting-edge health innovations in ways that reach the communities most in need. Whether it’s HIV treatment or COVID-19 vaccines, inequalities in access are perpetuating the pandemic in ways that harm us all,” he said.
79 million infections
HIV is still The most dangerous pandemic of our time, said UNAIDS.
Since it was first discovered in the early 80s, an estimated 79 million people have been infected with the virus, which currently has no vaccine or cure.
About 36 million people have died from AIDS-related diseases since the beginning of the pandemic and 1.5 million new infections by 2020.
Of the 38 million people living with the virus today, 28 million are receiving life-saving antiviral treatment, keeping them healthy and preventing transmission.
© UNICEF / Francis Emorut
A nurse meets an HIV-positive patient at a medical center in Namayingo, Uganda.
