OK, so who hasn't heard about this?

[mattblakk]

from: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/12/MNG8ABA7RK1.DTL

Potent HIV strain found -- U.S. health alert issued
- David Perlman, Chronicle Science Writer
Saturday, February 12, 2005


A new strain of the AIDS virus that swiftly causes disease and resists virtually all anti-HIV drugs has been detected in New York City, causing health officials there to issue a nationwide alert through the federal Centers for Disease Control.

AIDS clinics and health departments throughout California already have been notified of the single case, but no evidence of the new virus strain has been reported anywhere other than New York, specialists monitoring the disease said.

In San Francisco, Dr. John Greenspan, director of the AIDS Research Institute at UCSF, said Friday that all community physicians and city clinics treating HIV or AIDS patients have been informed of the New York case. But because the new virus strain has been detected in only one person so far, he said it is "very unlikely" that it would reach beyond the urban center where it was found.

"It's a new warning, however, that safe sex practices remain the most effective way of preventing any HIV infection," Greenspan said.

Dr. Jay A. Levy, the UCSF virologist who was among the first to identify the AIDS virus, said the "message" of the new case is that the increase in drug resistance among people infected by HIV means "we can't be complacent about the use of these antiretroviral drugs and that all of them are likely to be effective only temporarily."

What is badly needed, Levy insisted, is the development of new ways to boost the immune system so strongly that people can reject the virus itself before any drugs are needed.

Multiple drug resistance is increasingly common among people infected by HIV, and the combination of resistance and its rapid progression to AIDS in the New York case is what most alarmed experts there, according to Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the city's public health director.

The patient in New York, Frieden said in a news release, is a man in his mid-40s who reported having multiple sex partners and unprotected anal intercourse.

He first tested positive for HIV in December and has not been treated with any of the AIDS drugs. He appeared to have been recently infected and has already developed AIDS -- a highly unusual event for a disease that usually takes 10 years or more to develop after infection.

"This case is a wake-up call," Frieden said. "First, it's a wake-up call to men who have sex with men ... and now we've identified this strain of HIV that is difficult or impossible to treat and which appears to progress so rapidly to AIDS."

Nearly 25 years after the AIDS epidemic began, researchers have developed only four classes of effective anti-retroviral drugs, and one of them has emerged from the laboratory only within the past two years.

The viral strain found in the New York case has proved resistant to three of the drug classes: protease inhibitors and two types of reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

A newer type of drug, known as fusion inhibitors, appears to be effective in preventing the newfound virus from inserting its genetic material into blood cells. New York health officials did not say whether any version of the newer drugs has been tried on the patient.

Dr. David Ho, director of the internationally known Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York, said in a statement Thursday: "This patient's infection with an HIV-1 strain that is not amenable to standard antiretroviral therapy, along with his rapid clinical and immunological deterioration, is alarming.

"While this remains a single case, it is prudent to closely watch for any additional possible cases while continuing to emphasize the importance of reducing HIV risk behavior."

Dr. James Braun, president of the Physicians Research Network, a New York organization of doctors who specialize in treating patients with HIV and AIDS, said in a statement: "We believe that the transmission of treatment-resistant HIV was a disaster waiting to happen, particularly in communities where safer sex is not practiced regularly."

Comments

[derekja.livejournal.com]

I had not heard of that. Pretty scary stuff...

[eac.livejournal.com]

Fuck.

I'd heard not a word.

Should I repost in my LJ, do you think?

[mattblakk.livejournal.com]

I dunno. The information behind an LJ cut can't really be harmful to anyone, and someone might want to know.

[griffen.livejournal.com]

Oh, shit. :(

[mattblakk.livejournal.com]

My favorite was the health department dolt who said something to the effect of, "Oh, it's only one case we don't have to worry about it leaving its metropolitan area."

One case. In a tweeker (meth user) with multiple partners. Yeah, Mister, clearly, no one else could have it. I mean, after all, it never really left Paris, since there are no airplanes.

[eac.livejournal.com]

I thought that, too. Or, rather, I thought: "right, asshole."

(I went ahead and reposted; don't quite know why I even asked...)

[pywacket.livejournal.com]

"only one case"
are they out of their minds? C'mon they just happened to find patient zero for the new strain. Somebody who had multiple partners and unprotected sex in this day and age? Am I reading that right?

[beyondbliss.livejournal.com]

I hadn't heard about it. Thanks for posting it.

Why won't we gay guys learn that barebacking is totally unacceptable

[bufftuff.livejournal.com]

I really appreciate the update on the new HIV strain.
This should be of concern to every gay man.

Your blogs are very informative. I appreciate the efforts very much.

A new fan.