The genome of the HIV virus, responsible for AIDS and AIDS-related infections, has been entirely decoded by a team of researchers at the University of North Carolina lead by professor Kevin Weeks. This is a huge step forward towards understanding how this deadly virus attacks the human body and, consequently, how it can be cured.
Prior to this scientific achievement retroviral drugs, the only known cure to HIV’s symptoms, not to the disease itself, where shaped to attack only few decoded parts of the virus’ genome. HIV, like many other viruses, is composed of a single stranded RNA, some sort of single-stranded DNA molecule. While DNA contains fixed and sequenced genetic information, the RNA is able to fold into complicated patterns. This makes the molecule much more difficult to analyze.
The next step in HIV RNA research will be to change its sequence in order to understand how this affects the virus and discover its weak sides.
“We are also beginning to understand tricks the genome uses to help the virus escape detection by the human host”, said Weeks.
This will help in starting antiretroviral treatment (ART) as early as possible in HIV positive people. A recent study conducted by professor Matthias Egger of the University of Berne in sub-Saharan Africa has shown that mortality rates of people starting HIV treatment are not much different than those of the general population if treatment is started before the immune system has been severely damaged.
According to the latest UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic, released in July 2008, there have been significant gains in preventing new HIV infections worldwide, especially in heavily-plagued countries. But if HIV infections have globally dropped from 3 to 2.7 million, the rates of infections are rising in countries such as China, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
Some so-called first-world countries are experiencing a rise in infection as well, such as Germany, the United Kingdom and Australia.
