‘A new HIV strain becomes full-blown AIDS in three years’

World bodies launch platform to end epidemic  

SCIENTISTS have identified a new aggressive strain of Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) capable of transforming from infection to full-blown Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) within just three years.

    Even so, world bodies yesterday joined President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya in Nairobi to launch the All In, a new platform for action against rising cases in adolescents, in a bid to end the epidemic.

   In a new study, scientists reported in MailOnline that the strain, CRF19, is considerably faster than the average conversion time of around 10 years – and could be so quick that people might not even realise that they were already infected.

   The researchers at the University of Leuven, Belgium, were prompted to investigate after noting a growing number of reports of people in Cuba suffering a rapid progression to AIDS within three years of infection.

   Meanwhile, in a statement published yesterday by the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS), the global bodies noted that while major advances have been made in almost every area of the response to HIV, progress for adolescents was falling behind.

   Those involved include UNAIDS, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), World Health Organisation (WHO), United States President’s Emergency Preparedness Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and youth movements represented by PACT and Y+.

   In a statement yesterday, UNAIDS said that AIDS has become the leading cause of death for adolescents in Africa and the second leading cause of death among adolescents globally. Unfortunately, just one in four children and adolescents under the age of 15 have access to life-saving antiretroviral treatment. Deaths are declining in all age groups, except among 10 to 19 year olds.

   UNAIDS also noted that new HIV infections among adolescents are not declining as quickly as among other age groups. Adolescent girls, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, are most affected. In South Africa in 2013, over 860 girls became infected with HIV every week, compared to 170 boys.

   To address this inequity, UNAIDS, UNICEF and partners have launched All In, a new platform for action to drive better results for adolescents by encouraging strategic changes in policy and engaging more young people in the effort.

   For the Executive Director of UNFPA, Babatunde Osotimehin, “we need to meet adolescents where they are and address the challenges they face. UNFPA is All In to protect their human rights and sexual and reproductive health, prevent and treat HIV.”

   According to the lead researcher, Prof. Anne-Mieke Vandamme, “Cuban clinicians were asking us to collaborate with them to investigate why they were noticing an increase in patients progressing to AIDS much faster than before.

   “We set up this project and found that a particular recombinant strain, called CRF19, was strongly associated with fast progression. All patients infected with CRF19 were progressing to AIDS within three years after being infected – often as soon as they were diagnosed with HIV infection.  

   “We knew that they were infected just one or two years earlier, since we had an HIV negative test from the patients in the study one or two years earlier. All these patients are offered treatment immediately, but some patients are at diagnosis, so ill that they die before they can recover with treatment.”   

   Before the HIV virus can enter human cells, it has to attach itself to them. It does so via anchor points, which are proteins on the cell membrane – the coating of every cell that separates it from the outside environment. In a normal infection, the virus first attaches itself to the anchor point known as CCR5.

   However, for many CRF19 patients, after they have experienced many healthy years during their latent period, the virus switches to another anchor point known as CXCR4. That switch tends to trigger a faster progression to AIDS.

   The researchers noted that this new strain targets the second anchor point, CXCR4, early after infection, and consequently, the number of healthy years a patient experiences is drastically shortened and the effects of AIDS is suffered much faster.

   Meanwhile, according to UNAIDS, over 200 young advocates and leaders from adolescent and youth movements were present at the launch of All In, which focuses on four key action areas. These include engaging, mobilizing and empowering adolescents as leaders and actors of social change.

   Others are, improving data collection to better-informed programming, encouraging innovative approaches to reach adolescents with essential HIV services adapted to their needs, and placing adolescent HIV firmly on political agenda to spur concrete action and mobilize resources.