Wednesday, January 29, 2025, 12:28PM |  40°
MENU
Advertisement
For the first time in 19 years, a team of scientists has detected a new strain of HIV.
1
MORE

Scientists discover first new HIV strain in nearly two decades

CDC

Scientists discover first new HIV strain in nearly two decades

For the first time in 19 years, a team of scientists has detected a new strain of HIV.

The strain is a part of the Group M version of HIV-1, the same family of virus subtypes to blame for the global HIV pandemic, according to Abbott Laboratories, which conducted the research along with the University of Missouri, Kansas City. The findings were published Wednesday in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

HIV has several different subtypes or strains, and like other viruses, it has the ability to change and mutate over time. This is the first new Group M HIV strain identified since guidelines for classifying subtypes were established in 2000. It is important to know what strains of the virus are circulating to ensure that tests used to detect the disease are effective.

Advertisement

"It can be a real challenge for diagnostic tests," Mary Rodgers, a co-author of the report and a principal scientist at Abbott, said. Her company tests more than 60% of the world's blood supply, she said, and they have to look for new strains and track those in circulation so "we can accurately detect it, no matter where it happens to be in the world."

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said current treatments for HIV are effective against this strain and others. However, identifying a new strain provides a more complete map of how HIV evolves.

"There's no reason to panic or even to worry about it a little bit," Dr. Fauci said. "Not a lot of people are infected with this. This is an outlier."

For scientists to be able to declare that this was a new subtype, three cases of it must be detected independently. The first two were found in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1983 and 1990.

Advertisement

The two strains were "very unusual and didn't match other strains," Ms. Rodgers said. The third sample found in Congo was collected in 2001 as a part of a study aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission of the virus. The sample was small, and while it seemed similar to the two older samples, scientists wanted to test the whole genome to be sure. At the time, there wasn't technology to determine if this was the new subtype.

So scientists at Abbott and the University of Missouri developed new techniques to study and map the 2001 sample. Ms. Rodgers said it was "like searching for a needle in a haystack," and then "pulling the needle out with a magnet."

They were able to fully sequence the sample, meaning they were able to create a full picture of what it was, and determine that it was, in fact, subtype L of Group M.

It's unclear how this variant of the virus may impact the body differently, if it does act differently at all. Current HIV treatments can fight a wide variety of virus strains, and it is believed that these treatments can fight this newly named one.

"This discovery reminds us that to end the HIV pandemic, we must continue to out think this continuously changing virus and use the latest advancements in technology and resources to monitor its evolution," study co-author, Carole McArthur, a professor in the department of oral and craniofacial sciences at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, said in a statement.

About 36.7 million in the world are living with HIV, according to World Health Organization. UNAIDS estimates that in 2016, some 1.8 million people became newly infected.

First Published: November 7, 2019, 4:22 p.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (0)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
Pitt’s Zack Austin (55) dunks over North Carolina’s Ven-Allen Lubin (22) in a game at Petersen Events Center Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. Pitt held off North Carolina 73-65.
1
sports
Pitt stifles North Carolina in second half, pulls away for critical ACC win
Access by Pennsylvania and other states to online systems that manage federal-state initiatives like Medicaid, CareerLink and Head Start was shut down on Tuesday, apparently as the result of a memo issued Monday night by the Trump administration, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday afternoon.
2
news
Pa. can't access Medicaid, other portals over Trump's planned federal funding freeze, Shapiro says
Pittsburgh Steelers owner Arthur J. Rooney II looks on prior to the NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Philadelphia.
3
sports
Jason Mackey: Art Rooney II's reasoning for keeping Mike Tomlin as Steelers coach feels misguided
The Downtown skyline from Riverwalk on the North Shore.
4
business
Pittsburgh planning commisson backs Gainey proposal to expand affordable housing citywide
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields is greeted by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson after scoring a touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers at the Acrisure Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in the North Shore. The Pittsburgh Steelers won 20-10.
5
sports
Gerry Dulac: Steelers want a streamlined QB style, so who fits the bill?
For the first time in 19 years, a team of scientists has detected a new strain of HIV.  (CDC)
CDC
Advertisement
LATEST news
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story