Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia, Inc. - 1 August 1996
The subtype, known as type E, is most common in Thailand, and some studies indicate it may spread more easily than other variants.
Most cases of HIV infection in Britain are subtype B, which is spread mostly by homosexual contact. Type E is more common among heterosexuals.
One case of type E was found in Britain in May. Since then, the magazine said, 72 more cases had been identified.
"Once there's a critical mass of a more infectious type of HIV, the disease could take off more in the heterosexual population than it has already," Barry Evans, an epidemiologist at the government's Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS), told New Scientist.
It said the new cases among 60 men and 12 women were probably picked up in Thailand, or from partners who had visited Thailand.
Max Essex of the Harvard School of Public Health said earlier this year that type-E HIV infected mucosal cells, such as those lining the vagina or at the tip of the penis.
Most HIV infects immune system cells. Essex and other researchers say there is evidence the E-subtype is slightly more infectious.
The PHLS said it did not have the resources to step up monitoring of the new HIV variants and has asked the government for more money to do so.
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