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EPIDEMICS
Rare strain of AIDS virus moves beyond Cameroon: doctors
by Staff Writers
Paris (AFP) Nov 25, 2011


A very rare strain of AIDS virus previously found only among a few people in Cameroon has most probably spread outside the West African country, according to a case reported by The Lancet on Friday.

The first identified infection with the so-called "group N" strain of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was found in 1998 in a Cameroonian woman who had progressed to AIDS.

Since then, more than 12,000 HIV-infected patients living in Cameroon have been tested for group-N infection, but only 12 cases, including two couples, have ever been found.

The new case, reported by French doctors, involves a 57-year-old man who was admitted to the Saint Louis Hospital Paris in January suffering from fever, rash, swollen lymph glands and genital ulceration.

The patient had high levels of a virus in the HIV-1 family, but tests to pinpoint the particular strain proved inconclusive. On February 9, the patient developed facial paralysis.

The French team then carried out further tests on blood samples, which were found to react in an antibody essay of the N strain.

Tracing his sexual history, the researchers believe the infection was "probably" acquired from intercourse with a partner in Togo, from which he had just returned.

"This case of HIV-1 group-N primary infection indicates that this rare group is now circulating outside Cameroon, which emphasises the need for rigorous HIV epidemiological monitoring," says the doctors, led by Professor Francois Simon.

The finding is important because the patient suffered not only severe symptoms but also a fast-track decline in his immune system, as shown in the number of his CD4 white blood cells.

He was given a powerful five-drug combination of antiretrovirals, to which he responded, but needs close monitoring in the future, the letter said.

Group N may have leapt to humans from chimpanzees, possibly through the handling of bushmeat infected with the simian equivalent of HIV, scientists say.

It is one of four sub-types of virus gathered in the HIV-1 family, the others being M, which is by far the most prevalent, O and P. The P strain, like O and N very rare, may have jumped to humans from gorillas, according to a study published in 2009.

There is also a minority viral family called HIV-2, which also may have passed to humans from animal primates.

Related Links
Epidemics on Earth - Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola




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S.Africa offers lucky draw for voluntary HIV tests
Cape Town (AFP) Nov 25, 2011 - A South African province on Friday announced it will offer a 50,000 rand ($5,900, 4,400 euros) prize in a lucky draw to encourage people to test for HIV in the world's biggest AIDS population.

"Persuasion has not worked. We would rather use incentives than coercive methods to ensure that all adults regularly test their HIV status," said Western Cape premier Helen Zille, the Sapa news agency reported.

People who tested for HIV at the testing sites in the province will be entered into the lucky draw in a campaign marking a 16-day anti-violence campaign for women and children.

South Africa has poured money into its AIDS campaigns, rolling out a massive testing drive and scaling up the world's largest AIDS treatment programme after years of refusing life-saving drugs.

Last year, just over one million people tested voluntarily in the Western Cape, the country's only opposition-run province, and 103,000 were on anti-AIDS treatment by the end of October.

Lastest UNAIDS report released on Monday estimates South Africa has the world's largest HIV population of 5.6 million people.

Ramped up investments in fighting the disease had seen infections drop by 22 percent between 2001 and 2009 and deaths by 21 percent between 2001 and last year, the report said.



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A commonly held theory says that flu virus originates every year in Southeast and Eastern Asia, making this region the source of seasonal flu epidemics in other parts of the world. However, researchers at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore have found that influenza virus in tropical areas isn't the only global source of flu epidemics. The international team of scientists involve ... read more


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