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A new study in Uganda suggests that
people infected with HIV can pick up a second strain more commonly than might
be expected. However, other people with HIV who continue risky behavior
apparently resist such superinfections, a difference scientists are hoping
could prove useful to vaccine research.
“A superinfection occurs when an
individual is initially infected with a strain or strains of HIV. And then at
some point later on, after that person has developed an initial immune response
to their first infecting strain, at that later time point they come into
contact through risky behavior with a second viral strain and then are
superinfected with that second strain,” said Dr. Andrew Redd, lead author of
the study.
“What we found in our study was that
when we looked at a general population of heterosexuals in Uganda, we found
that it actually isn’t as rare as what we thought,” Redd said. “From what we
can tell, individuals who get superinfected respond to treatment just fine, and
it lowers their viral load and they get healthier.” Superinfection with a
strain already antiretroviral-resistant “would be a major problem” but “doesn’t
seem to be a huge risk so far,” he said.
Of people who are somehow protected
against superinfection despite taking risks, “One question would be what
natural immune response to their initial infection is protecting them from the
superinfection,” said Redd. “And if we can figure that out, that may give us a
very interesting avenue to pursue for HIV vaccine research.” Current vaccine
strategies that attempt to “recreate the natural immune response may be
insufficient to protect an individual from infection,” he said.
[PNU editor’s note: The study, “The
Rates of HIV Superinfection and Primary HIV Incidence in a General Population
in Rakai, Uganda,” was published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases
(2012;doi:10.1093/infdis/jis325).]
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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