Detection and differentiation of HIV-2 using the point-of-care Alere q HIV-1/2 Detect nucleic acid test

HIV-2 is endemic in West Africa with limited global spread primarily to countries with socio-economic ties to the region [1 –4]; there are an estimated 1–2 million patients infected with HIV-2 worldwide [5–7]. Compared to HIV-1, patients infected with HIV-2 often have a longer asymptomatic stage, slower decline in CD4+T-cells and decreased acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-associated mortality [8–11]. In areas where HIV-2 and HIV-1 co-circulate, a substantial number of patients are dually-infected with both HIV types [12–14].

Source: Journal of Clinical Virology - October 25, 2017 Category: Virology Authors: Ming Chang, Katrin Steinmetzer, Dana N. Raugi, Robert A. Smith, Selly Ba, Fatima Sall, Moussa Seydi, Alassane Niang, ElHadji Ibrahima Sall, Ousseynou Cisse, Katja R ödel, Robert W. Coombs, Geoffrey S. Gottlieb Tags: Full length article Source Type: research