HIV mutates and weakens, but the danger persists

HIV gradually mutates and becomes less contagious

BBC news: HIV evolving 'into milder form'Long-term observations of patients in Botswana and South Africa have shown that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is gradually becoming less dangerous and contagious.

As Oxford scientists found out, during the adaptation to the human immune system, the virus mutated over and over again, and now, getting into the human body, it takes more time to cause AIDS. The results of the study are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Payne et al., Impact of HLA-driven HIV adaptation on virulence in populations of high HIV seroprevalence).

Currently, there are more than 35 million people living in the world with HIV-positive status. This virus is a master of disguise: it mutates quickly and easily to adapt to the human immune system. However, HIV periodically infects a person with a strong immune system. "Then he has to change in order to survive, and this mutation does not pass without a trace," the BBC quoted the words of the main author of the study Philip Golder (Philip Goulder). As a result, the virus has a reduced ability to replicate, which makes the virus less contagious and increases the period for which AIDS develops in the body. Then the weakened virus enters the body of other people, and a gradual cycle of its weakening begins.

The researchers compared the situation in Botswana, where the AIDS problem has existed for a long time, and in the Republic of South Africa, where the virus appeared ten years later. As a result, it turned out that in Botswana, the ability of HIV to replicate is 10 percent lower than in South Africa. According to the authors of the study, antiretroviral drugs also cause HIV to mutate into milder forms. "Twenty years ago, AIDS developed in an average of ten years," Golder said. – But over the past ten years in Botswana, this period has increased to 12.5 years. This is a gradual growth, but it is still a fairly rapid change. It is possible that over time this period will continue to grow, and in the future people will not feel any symptoms of the disease for several decades."

According to scientists, the changes taking place in the virus will make it possible to fight the spread of the disease more effectively. Some virologists even suggest that over time HIV will become "almost harmless" if it continues to evolve.

However, scientists emphasize that it will take a very long time before HIV becomes harmless, and before this happens, it is necessary to continue to develop more effective drugs and affordable treatment to prevent the development of AIDS.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru02.12.2014