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Study shows it is most common among bisexuals; patients could get very ill much sooner
A NEW strain of the HIV virus, believed to be more aggressive than at least one strain here, has reared its head. Researchers from Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) believe the new strain developed from a recombination of the two existing strains here, and that it may have arisen among the community of bisexual HIV-positive patients. By “more aggressive”, researchers mean that patients with the virus, which causes the incurable Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or Aids, could become very ill much sooner. The two strains of HIV here, documented since 1996, are the subtype B strain and the CRF01-AE strain. When a patient who is already infected with one strain is infected with another, the viruses from these two strains then undergo “recombination” and emerge with parts of the original two strains. Worldwide, there are nine main strains of HIV.
So far, 50 instances of recombined strains have been identified. With this – the first new strain discovered here – being the 51st instance of recombination, the new strain has been named CRF51-01B. Preliminary research in TTSH indicates that it can wreak more havoc with one’s immune system than the B strain in an untreated patient. But how the new strain compares to the AE strain will require more research, said Dr Ng Oon Tek, the consultant at TTSH’s Department of Infectious Diseases heading the study. Doctors say, however, that treatment methods will not change. Drugs now in use here will still be effective against the new strain. The key remains in getting people to be tested and to seek treatment as soon as possible, said Dr Ng.
In the study he leads, 109 blood samples were collected from the HIV population here between February 2008 and August 2009. Researchers found the new strain in 12 per cent of the group, that is, 14 patients. Just over half (56 per cent) of the sample group had the AE strain, and 24 per cent had the B strain. The remaining 8 per cent had minor subtypes so rarely seen here that they are not considered a strain here. Among heterosexual HIV-positive individuals, the AE strain is dominant. Among men who have sex with men (MSM), the B strain is the dominant one. However, among the bisexual community, both strains are equally dominant. Researchers thus believe it is among this community that the recombination occurred.
The new strain is also most common among the bisexuals. About one in three such patients carries it. The new strain has infected only 10 per cent of the MSM group, and 3 per cent of the heterosexual group. The executive director of Action for Aids Singapore, Mr Donovan Lo, said that the organisation was already aware of this new development. He said: “HIV is a concern here, and with this new strain causing early progression of disease, we cannot over-emphasise the need to continue our preventive efforts against HIV infection and the need for early testing for those at risk.” The organisation urges sexually active individuals to use condoms and encourages those who are at risk to go for early HIV testing.
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