An international team of scientists has found a new variant of HIV in the Netherlands, the results of the study are published in the journal Science. The new variant of the disease was named VB and was found in 109 people.
VB is highly contagious and can accelerate the progression of AIDS – while, according to scientists, it is successfully suppressed by antiretroviral therapy. “The worst-case scenario would be the emergence of a variant that combines high virulence, high transmissibility and resistance to treatment. The variant we discovered has only the first two, ”said Chris Wymant, one of the authors of the study.
“The discovery highlights the need to follow WHO recommendations for routine HIV testing among vulnerable populations. This will not only save a large number of lives of carriers of the immunodeficiency virus, but also prevent the transmission of new variations of this pathogen,” Christoph Fraser, professor at Oxford University, commented on the results of the study.
