Rare Drug-Resistant HIV Found in NYC

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Taken from Yahoo

EDIT

I know this thread kind of died on the vine, but I felt the need to add this from the NY Times

[ February 15, 2005, 18:00: Message edited by: The Great Snook ]

 

This will be unpopular, but mankind brought this disease on itself, and until we changes our behavior, HIV will continue to spread and mutate.

We probably will see more and more of this (and SARS, Ebola, and deadly influenzas, etc.) as we continue to globalize the planet. The fact that few people used to travel between regional areas used to keep these things in check, but with people jetting every where, there is no longer a natural quarantine effect.

 

Well, there's that, as well as the "antibiotic effect" of modern medicine which could almost be described as "forced evolution for viruses". The weaker strains die, the stronger ones survive and become resistant. The result is that medicine needs to adapt again, with stronger or different remedies, and the cycle repeats itself.

IMO, what sets HIV apart from epi-/pan-demic and lethal infections is that it is infectious for a long time, cannot be detected until a certain stage and the recipient generally doesn't die as a result of it for close to a decade. The only bright side of things like Ebola are that they can be contained quickly, since most victims will die horribly but swiftly. SARS and influenzas are more infectious, and no doubt there will be minor outbreaks as people travel before being fully affected by them, but their lethality keeps them under a measure of control almost by default.

That said, my background is in the humanities - I'm sure someone like Aldeth could be much more informative or constructive about this.

Thanks for posting this, TGS.

 

That gave me a weird idea NonSequitur, if the application of medicines causes the virusstrain to become stronger, we can go on as long until we've created a supervirus that is resistant to all but the medicines that would kill the patient as well.
So by constantly using medicines, we are actually killing ourselves.

 

(Wow, Nonsequitur, that sounded like a Fallout reference...)

Morgoth is right... this is rather a bad thing. But, really, AIDS isn't going to spread to most people in the Western world. It's going to die out as the people who have it die out. I can't see it causing more damage after 30 years. Government awareness programs are hindering the growth of it severely, I have heard reported. If the programs in Africa are effective, most of the more advanced portions of Africa will begin the process of eliminating it. As they become more successful, the less advanced portions will either be destroyed, or they'll be able to receive aid which will help them eliminate the transmission of the virus. However, other viruses are becoming more powerful. Influenza, for instance, is becoming more resistant to some of the traditional antibiotics.

 

@ Slith: I only just spotted that, myself... but somehow I don't think we'll be making FEV anytime soon (or at least, I hope not!). I agree with you about the spread of AIDS in Western countries as sexual health has become less of a taboo topic and people are more aware of the potential risks, but it is a serious problem in Africa. I'm more worried about bird flu than AIDS, since I can potentially catch that walking to work or waiting for a train.

@ Morgoth: You'd be surprised, and possibly horrified, at how easily a lethal, drug-resistant bacterium can be created. The antibiotic effect is actually a strong argument for the restricted use of such medicines in treatment (ie: only when needed, as opposed to bed rest and natural healing), as the more frequently they are applied, the faster resilient or resistant strains will develop. As I said, though, I'm no expert on this - my knowledge is second-hand from my father (a physical and organic chemist and food technologist).