HIV becoming less virulent?
Research comparing samples of HIV-1 from 1986-89 to samples from 2002-03 have found the virus weakening. The new samples do not multiply as well and they appear more susceptible to drugs. This, of course, flies in the face of other research showing that HIV is actually becoming more drug-resistant and virulent. What is actually the case is still up for grabs, but the new findings suggest that in several (human) generations, HIV may not be lethal.
Traditionally, it has been thought that the more hosts HIV passes through, the more lethal it would become. The new study contradicts this, suggesting evolutionary forces at work: if a virus becomes more efficient, it’s going to wipe out hosts quicker and more effectively. In the short-run, this may be beneficial, but in the long run, it will wipe out what is effectively its environment, leading to extinction of the species itself.
“There is a natural trend to reach an ‘equilibrium’ between the agent and the host interests, in order to guarantee concomitant survival for a longer time,” he said.
It makes sense, then, that the virus would adapt to decrease in virulence which ensures its survival for a long time to come. While it’s too early to say one way or the other, this latest study affords new hope in the search for a cure for HIV and AIDS. In the meantime, caution is urged in being lulled into a false sense of security, despite the fact that other infectious diseases have shown the same tendencies in weakening. Among these are smallpox, TB, and syphilis.
Obviously it goes without saying that this doesn’t mean that crazy people like Christine Maggiore are correct and/or have the moral high ground, however.
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