New HIV strain found in woman from Camer
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| Mon, 08-03-2009 - 12:56pm |
Monday, August 3, 2009 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
New HIV strain found in woman from Cameroon
By Randolph E. Schmid
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A new strain of the virus that causes AIDS has been discovered in a woman from the African nation of Cameroon.
It differs from the three known strains of human immunodeficiency virus and appears to be closely related to a form of simian virus recently discovered in wild gorillas, researchers report in today's edition of the journal Nature Medicine.
The finding "highlights the continuing need to watch closely for the emergence for new HIV variants, particularly in western central Africa," said the researchers, led by Jean-Christophe Plantier of the University of Rouen, France.
The 62-year-old patient tested positive for HIV in 2004, shortly after moving to Paris from Cameroon, according to the researchers.
She had lived near Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, but said she had no contact with apes or bush meat, a name often given to meat from wild animals in tropical countries.
The woman shows no signs of AIDS and remains untreated, though she still carries the virus, the researchers said.
How widespread this strain is remains to be determined.
Researchers said it could be circulating unnoticed in Cameroon or elsewhere. The virus' rapid replication indicates that it is adapted to human cells, the researchers reported.
Complete article can be found at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009588415_hiv03.html








In Africa, people are dying from the regular HIV strain.