Pubdate: Mon, 14 Feb 2005
Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Copyright: 2005 The Sydney Morning Herald
Contact:  http://www.smh.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/441
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

EXPERTS CALM FEARS OF NEW SUPER HIV STRAIN

New York: A  day after the discovery of a drug-resistant, fast-developing 
AIDS case in New York prompted city health officials to announce an alert, 
leading experts said there may be little cause for alarm.

"There is absolutely no evidence that this is a super virus," Dr Robert 
Gallo, director of the University of Maryland's Institute for Human 
Virology, said.  Dr Gallo is a co-discoverer of HIV, the virus that causes 
AIDS.

A New York City health department spokeswoman stood by the city's handling 
of the case.

New York health officials announced on Friday that "a highly resistant 
strain of a rapidly progressive" HIV had been diagnosed for the first time 
in a city resident.

The case was found in an unidentified man in his 40s who had multiple male 
partners and unprotected anal sex, often while using the illegal drug 
crystal methamphetamine. The man developed AIDS as early as two to three 
months after infection, and no more than 20 months.

Dr Thomas Frieden, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health 
and Mental Hygiene, called the case a potential major problem and the 
department issued an alert to hospitals and doctors to test for evidence of 
the strain of HIV.

The strain was resistant to three of the four classes of AIDS drugs, and 
the concern was compounded by the fast onset of the disease.

"It's a wake-up call to men who have sex with men, particularly those who 
may use crystal methamphetamine," Dr Frieden said in a statement on the 
department's website.

Methamphetamine is a powerful stimulant often used in conjunction with sex.

The health department quoted Dr David Ho, head of the Aaron Diamond AIDS 
Research Centre in New York, as calling the case "alarming", and urging a 
close watch for similar cases.

However, Dr Gallo said it was prudent to pay attention to the case, but 
there was no evidence that the virus in question could be transmitted.

He said the type of HIV that may be involved in the New York man's case can 
be particularly virulent, but it is difficult to transmit.

"This is not novel and the odds are enormous that it [the virus] is not 
going to go anywhere," Dr Gallo  said. What could change the assessment 
would be if there were multiple cases of the virus being retransmitted, he said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager