Study identifies virulent HIV variant unrecognized for years

By LAURAN NEERGAARD
AP Medical Writer

Scientists have found a previously unrecognized variant of HIV that’s more virulent than usual and has quietly spread in the Netherlands for the past few decades. Oxford University researchers found a cluster of 109 cases while studying a database of HIV diagnoses. The report is not cause for alarm: HIV medicines worked just as well in people with the mutated virus as everyone else and its spread has been declining since about 2010. The finding underscores the importance of regular HIV testing and is part of efforts to better understand viral evolution. It was published Thursday in the journal Science.