Understand the risks of the new variant of HIV

As much as the pandemic of COVID-19 is still one of our current problems, a new variant of HIV is causing concern around the world for being more contagious. The VB variant of the HIV virus has recently caught the attention of specialists, but data indicate that it is circulating in The Netherlands desde to década de 80.

We have gathered information on this recent medical discovery, as well as data on studies for an HIV vaccine — a possibility for controlling the virus pandemic, which is facing difficulties due to inequalities in access to treatment for those infected.

How is the VB variant different from other HIV variants?

The virus HIV, responsible for causing the human immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS ou SIDA boat, in Brazil) was first discovered in 1983 by Luc montagnier, from Pasteur Institute na France. However, cases of five young homosexuals with severe pneumonia were recorded by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention from the US in 1981, and it was later confirmed that they had developed AIDS — the disease caused by HIV, which attacks the defense cells of the immune system and allows the development of opportunistic diseases. It is important to remember that a person cannot die of AIDS, but the possible infections that your body may have due to the weakened immune system.

The biggest concern that VB variant brings to specialists is that the increase in the viral load of HIV in the blood can be 3,5 to 5,5 times greater than the other known variants. That is, if the treatment is delayed or the person does not even know that they have the new variant of the HIV, the problems can be immense. The name VB is related to two dots: V for Virulent and B for subtype B, to which it belongs. It is known that the lineage is linked to HIV-1, which most circulates in Brazil.

Another feature that differentiates this new variant from the HIV is that it can destroy the lymphocytes of our immune system at twice the speed. It is as if the “block” to prevent the passage of diseases was erased.

In untreated cases, the VB variant can also cause problems in a shorter time. It only takes nine months for a person's immune system to become completely adrift (low lymphocyte counts) in men aged between 30 and 39. The other variants of HIV take about 3 years to cause the same situation.

It is also known that the new variant of the HIV it is more transmissible, according to the specialist who signed the document with the first information. The first symptoms appear about 3 to 5 years after a person's first contact with HIV. Other variants of the same virus take up to seven years to show signs that lead a person to seek a specialist.

How was the VB variant of HIV discovered?

The first data on the new HIV variant were published in the journal Science, right after the Oxford University detect the strain while working on the project BEEHIVE. This study is primarily focused on identifying possible changes in the HIV virus and experts collect samples throughout the Europe e Uganda.

17 people were identified with the VB variant, of which 15 of them lived in the Netherlands. Noticing the pattern, the scientists carried out a large survey based on the data of 6.700 people who tested positive for HIV, and soon came the surprise: another 92 Dutch men who have sex with men had the new variant. The number rose to 109 infected.

By carrying out the genetic sequencing of the VB variant, the scientists discovered that the circulation began around the 80s, the same time that the “major HIV virus” was discovered. The big explosion in cases took place during the 2000s and transmission was reduced around 2010, when HIV campaigns in the The Netherlands started to take effect.

Why is the new HIV variant of concern?

In addition to allowing the virus that causes the AIDS circulates at a higher rate, the VB variant also causes more severe cases in a shorter time than other strains of HIV. In this way, experts always remember that the best way to protect yourself is always to have safe sex.

A test should always be done when you have sex without a condom so that in case of a possible infection, treatment starts as soon as possible. Diagnosis is the best way to allow a person to continue living a completely normal life.

Do current treatments work for the new HIV variant?

The same study published in the journal Science confirms that current treatments with drug cocktails and periodic monitoring continue to be valid for the symptoms of VB variant be fought. the medicines antiretroviral (ARV) are the most viable option and the first of them appeared in 1987, when the AZN was approved by FDA (Food and Drug Administration) In the USA.

A survey conducted in 2017 by experts from the Bristol University proved that people in their 20s who have tested positive and have been taking the cocktail of medicine daily since 2010 can have an average life expectancy of 78 years. In relation to the British who were treated in 1996, the average life expectancy is 10 years higher.

One of the major problems is the delay of people in seeking diagnosis after having unprotected sex. According to the latest survey by the Brazilian Ministry of Health in December 2021, 53% of cases in Brazil are people aged between 20 and 34.

This is the same age range as people who died a few months after being diagnosed between the 1980s and 1990s. There are about 1 million infected in Brazil since the discovery of the disease.

Is there any vaccine against HIV?

Since the HIV virus was discovered during the 80s, 33 vaccine options have tried to be developed as a way to prevent infections. But the studies didn't get very far. However, experts are developing new studies to reach the expected day of announcing a vaccine against this virus. Meet.

Mosaic Study

No Brazil, the study Mosaic is already carrying out tests on people to find out about possible vaccine reactions and whether large-scale production can be done. This review is being carried out with people who live in Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Peru, Mexico, Poland, Spain and the United States and is developed by HVTN, Janssen Vaccines & Prevention BV, NIAID and USAMRDC, with the involvement of research centers from the EUA e Brazil.

About 3.000 people (the target is 3.800 participants) have already taken the vaccine ad26, and in addition to side effects that are common in these studies, no serious health problems were found.

It is not yet known about the actual effectiveness of the vaccine (whether it prevents or fights HIV), but the results should be presented in 2024. Cis men aged between 18 and 60 years are the main focus of the study and it is necessary that the person have tested negative for HIV.

Another option of immunizing against the virus that causes the AIDS is also being developed by Federal University of São Paulo, but the low investment in the health sector is one of the reasons why the study does not advance as quickly as it should.

HIV vaccine with messenger RNA technology

The knowledge acquired in the vaccine race to stop the COVID-19 pandemic can be used to fight other diseases. A study of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from the USA that was shared in the magazine Nature Medicine in December last year gave us hope that a vaccine for humans is really close to being developed.

Tests carried out on mice that received two doses of the vaccine already show that, in relation to other options that had been developed, the new vaccine is more effective and can cause the immune system to actually produce antibodies against HIV.

The display of multiple copies of the authentic HIV envelope protein is one of the special features of our platform, which mimics natural infection.

Paolo Lusso, from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

The same vaccine was also applied to rhesus macaques. In addition to the primary dose, the animals also received a booster for about a year, and the scientists chose to carry out tests with several variants of HIV. By week 58, all the monkeys being tested already had “levels of T cells and neutralizing antibodies that would be effective against 12 strains of HIV,” according to the publication.

The results were different in the case of simian-human immunodeficiency (SHIV), but still important. When exposed to the virus through the rectal mucosa, two of the seven monkeys had no health problems. Five of them had a slight delay in infection after about eight weeks. Animals that were not vaccinated (received a placebo) began to show symptoms of the infection after three weeks.

It was possible to notice that the risk of infection of animals that were vaccinated was 79% lower in relation to those that had not received the vaccine. Side effects include loss of appetite and other milder reactions. With the success of the research in two different types of animals, the messenger RNA vaccine against HIV will be tested in 56 healthy Americans (without the HIV virus). We can only wait for the next steps.

How does inequality get in the way of controlling the HIV pandemic?

People who are not tested and who are not followed up periodically have a greater chance of developing AIDS, as well as transmitting the virus to other people. With that in mind, governments around the world need to act so that all continents have a handle on cases.

Unfortunately, we know that this is not true and just look at the African continent, which has been experiencing a serious health crisis for years. 39% of new HIV infections in 2020 were recorded within sub-Saharan Africa, according to UNAIDS.

And these data do not just show problems in HIV control, since the vaccination of COVID-19 on the African continent is also a problem that needs to be solved. Until the closing of this article, only 8,67% of the entire African continent had received both doses of the vaccine against COVID-19.

Inequality needs to be corrected as soon as possible so that the HIV pandemic does not get further out of our control. The biggest path to this is the large investment in science so that vaccines can be developed with greater assertiveness.

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Sources: News Scientist l Euro News l Veja l G1 l Nature Magazine l Mosaic Study l Our World In Data