Research from Lund University in Sweden suggests that a new aggressive strain of HIV develops more rapidly into AIDS than any other current strains. From first infection with HIV to developing AIDS can be as short as 5 years - the shortest known for HIV-1 types - say the researchers. The new strain is a “recombinant” virus - a cross of two viruses that meet in an infected person. The two viruses, known as 02AG and A3, are the two most common strains in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. The recombinant strain is called A3/02 and so far has only been seen in the region. There are over 60 different epidemic strains of HIV-1 in the world. But usually different regions are dominated by only one or two of them. However, if two strains infect the same person, they can combine to form a cross between the two - known as a recombinant. The researchers report their findings in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. Although it has so far only been seen in West Africa, other studies have shown recombinants are spreading more rapidly around the world. Parts of the world, such as the US and Europe where there are high levels of immigration, are seeing increasingly mixed and complex variants of HIV. This is quite different to the early years of the HIV epidemic, when there were few dominant strains and no recombinants.
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