Scientists Discover First New Strain of HIV in Nearly 20 Years

Scientists have discovered HIV-1 group M subtype L, the first new strain of the HIV virus in 19 years during efforts to ensure that diagnostic tests for blood screening and detecting infectious diseases remain current.

Scientific American reports: “In the early days of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s, some blood donors unaware that they had HIV added the virus to the blood supply. A large number of patients who needed regular blood transfusions—among them, many with hemophilia—ended up contracting HIV and often dying. The supply has been essentially clear of HIV for years and Rodgers says efforts such as Abbott’s will help keep it that way. The study, published today  in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, serves as a reminder of the dangerous diversity of the HIV virus, says Jonah Sacha, a professor at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute at Oregon Health & Science University , who was not involved in the new research.”

The virus’s ability to evolve and mutate is what has thwarted all efforts to develop a vaccine. The work is important because “a radically new viral strain could evade detection in the blood supply, avoid being controlled by drugs and render future vaccines ineffective.”