HIV untreated transmit resistant viruses

AIDS: Untreated HIV infected people transmit resistant viruses

18/11/2013

Almost one in ten HIV-infected patients have been found to have viruses that are already resistant to at least one class of Aids therapy. This has been confirmed by a Swiss HIV cohort study supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation. According to him, especially those who are not yet in treatment, resistant HIV viruses in which a therapy with HIV and AIDS drugs is ineffective.

Now, prevention and early detection are to prevent their spread, as researchers from the University Hospital Zurich report in the journal "Clinical Infectious Diseases". Resistance to the HIV virus has been observed with at least one of the three drug classes of AIDS therapies. These resistant viruses are mainly transmitted by people who are not yet in therapy. These results provided a molecular-epidemiological analysis, in which 1674 male HIV-infected individuals who had sex with other men participated. For 140 patents, the resistant viruses were detected.

Reconstruction of the transmission paths
Based on the estimated period of infection as well as the genetic relatedness of the viruses in the blood, the research team was able to show the transmission pathways of these viruses. It turned out that the majority of transmission starts with HIV-infected people who were not yet in treatment at the time the resistant viruses spread.

"The fact that the resistant viruses are mainly circulated by untreated persons has surprised us," says Günthard, the study director. "Previously, we had assumed that the resistant viruses came from patients who failed the therapy when resistance to treatment developed during treatment."

Prevention and early diagnosis are crucial to success
In order to prevent the spread of these resistances, the treatment of untreated persons alone is not in the foreground, but rather the prevention and early detection of new infections. "In contrast to other tests, such as hepatitis, the HIV test requires the consent of the patient," explains Günthard. One of the reasons why HIV infections are diagnosed much later than possible is the doctors' reluctance to talk about the sexuality of their patients. Although medical advances have done a lot to counteract the deadly effects of this infection, there is still a lot of action to be taken, the researchers say. The Swiss HIV Cohort Study, begun in 1988, aims to explore HIV and AIDS in order to ensure optimal patient care. In total, more than 8,000 people are participating in the study, of which nearly one third are women. (Fr)

Image: Cornelia Menichelli