Tests show that the HIV virus has substantially
weakened since the onset of the pandemic two decades ago. An international
team of scientists reports that recent studies show that the virus'
ability to replicate has decreased and that it has become more vulnerable
to medications.
The
scientists drew this conclusion by comparing 12 HIV samples from 1986 to
1989 to 12 samples of the virus from 2002 to 2003. Samples from both eras
were from different patients, but closely matched genetically, scientists
said, and were studied in Petri dishes. They replicated in a medium of
white blood cells, their preferred targets in real-life infection.
Seventy-five percent of the recent samples were weaker on all counts,
suggesting they would be less likely to spread in an infected individual
or be transmitted to someone else
The researchers stressed their work in no way meant efforts to prevent the
spread of HIV should be scaled down even though the fight against the
deadly virus may finally be bearing fruits.
The Hunk
