HIV virus might be weakening with age

HIV virus might be weakening with age

New medical research could be heartening for the many infected with the fatal HIV virus, as studies denote that the Aids causing virus might be weakening with time.

The study was conducted by researches writing for the magazine 'Aids, from the Antwerp's Institute of Tropical Medicine by making comparisons between samples of HIV-1 dating back to 1986-89 and those of 2002-03. The research revealed that the recent virus samples looked rather weak as compared to the older ones, as they were not able to reproduce as fast besides being less resistant to anti-retroviral drugs. However, this survey conflicts other studies wherein the HIV virus seems to have turned more drug resistant.

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Scientist, Dr Eric Artz explained, “This was a very preliminary study, but we did find a pretty striking observation in that the viruses from the 2000s are much weaker than the viruses from the eighties.”

Warning that the study did not imply any sort of reduction in the attempts to arrest the killer virus, he added, “Obviously this virus is still causing death, although it may be causing death at a slower rate of progression now. Maybe in another 50 to 60 years we might see this virus not causing death.”

As only 12 samples had been taken for the study from every period, no definite conclusions could be drawn on what impact drugs were having on the virus.

Another senior editor at NAM, the HIV information charity, Keith Alcorn, revealed that the new research had dispelled former notions that the killer HIV virus would only become stronger and drug resistant with time. He informed, “What appears to be happening is that by the time HIV passes from one person to another, it has already toned down some of its most pathogenic effects in response to its host's immune system. So the virus that is passed on is less 'fit' each time.”

Nevertheless, he was careful to caution that Aids was a fatal infection and “HIV is still a life-threatening infection.”

Meanwhile, an HIV specialist at the World Health Organization, Dr Marco Vitoria, disclosed that diseases like smallpox, TB and syphilis also carried similar attributes of becoming less powerful with time. Stating that such changes could only be determined through generations and not years, he said, “There is a natural trend to reach an 'equilibrium' between the agent and the host interests, in order to guarantee concomitant survival for a longer time.”