South Africa has the world’s largest HIV epidemic, with 8.2 million of the 60 million people infected.
A South African woman who suffered from inadequately treated HIV and who harbored Covid-19 for nine months saw the respiratory virus develop at least 21 mutations in her body, according to a study.
Once the 22-year-old kept on the antiretroviral medication used to treat HIV and her immune system got stronger, she was able to overcome the Covid-19 infection in six to nine weeks, the study finds. led by scientists from Stellenbosch and the University of Amsterdam. University of KwaZulu-Natal showed. The study is not peer-reviewed.
The study adds to evidence that Covid-19 can mutate rapidly when housed by immunosuppressed individuals, such as those not taking medication to treat HIV, leading to the development of new variants. The beta variant, with which the patient in the study was infected, was discovered in South Africa, just like Omicron.
“This case, like others before, describes a possible pathway for the emergence of new variants,” the scientists said, stressing that it was still a hypothesis. “Our experience confirms previous reports that effective antiretroviral treatment is key to managing such events.”
South Africa has the world’s largest HIV epidemic, with 8.2 million of the 60 million people infected with the virus, which weakens the immune system.
The coronavirus the patient harbored in the study developed at least 10 mutations on the spike protein, which allows it to bind to cells, and 11 other mutations, the scientists said. Some changes were the same as those in the Omicron and Lambda variants, while some were consistent with mutations that allow the virus to evade antibodies.
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