HIV strain, a situation called “superinfection.”
In the first patient, researchers found high levels of HIV-specific immune cells called CD8+ T cells that can kill virus-infected cells.
Patient 2
The second patient had a weaker CD8+ T cell response against HIV, but a very strong neutralizing antibody response until the sudden viral rebound.
This suggests that different mechanisms were at work in each patient, the researchers said in an NIAID news release.
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Neutralizing antibodies may have played a significant role in near-complete HIV suppression until the second patient was infected with a different strain of the virus, according to the study.
The research also shows that HIV superinfection is a potential cause of a sudden virological breakthrough in people with HIV who stop ART, especially when after a prolonged period of virus suppression.
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How to prevent HIV superinfection
The same actions that place a non-infected person at risk of developing HIV are the same actions that place a person at risk of HIV superinfection.
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As a result, you should do the following to prevent HIV superinfection:
- Use condoms
- Get tested
- Be monogamous
- Get vaccinated
- Do not abuse alcohol or drugs or share needles
- Do not douche (Douching removes some of the normal bacteria in the vagina that protects you from infection. This may increase your risk of getting HIV and other STIs)
