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.
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.
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)