According to the latest reports coming out of West Africa, a mutated form of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is currently running amok through several regions. The newly-discovered viral agent is much more aggressive than its predecessor, and causes AIDS that progresses significantly more rapidly than ever before.
This strain was first detected as early as 2011, and dubbed A3/02. News agency now say that the virus is causing numerous new cases in Guinea-Bissau, a West African nation that is very poor, and where access to proper healthcare is lacking at best, Gizmodo reports.
Virologists believe that A3/02 appeared when two other strains of HIV fused together in some patients. The announcement was made by scientists at the Lund University, in Sweden, who recently analyzed the properties of this aggressive strain in more detail.
“Individuals who are infected with the new recombinant form develop AIDS within five years. That's about two to two-and-a-half years faster than one of the parent strains,” says study researcher Angelica Palm, from the Lund University. Existing treatments against HIV appear to work against A3/02, the team found.