An Update on HIV-2 Infection

Abstract

Human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV–2) infection is an important cause of disease in a number of regions of the world. But the knowledge about this infection is sparse. Prevalence data on HIV-2 is heterogeneous. HIV-2 has a lower infectivity than HIV-1 which can be related to the lower RNA levels in this virus. The rate of progression to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in HIV-2-infected patients is highly variable making it necessary to distinguish patients who are likely to progress from those who may have a more indolent course for better monitoring of HIV-2-infected patients. Wasting syndrome and pulmonary tuberculosis occur most frequently in HIV-2-infected AIDS patients than in HIV-1 patients. Recombinant immunoblot assay appears to be more specific in detecting HIV-2 than the other immunoblot assays. The development of an FDA-approved quantitative HIV-2 RNA test is needed to improve the care of HIV-2-infected patients. CD4 cell count recovery is very slow following the initiation of treatment in many HIV-2-infected patients; therefore, it is better to start therapy for HIV-2 patients when the CD4 cell count is <500/mm. Though nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors are usually active against HIV-2, there may be variation in the potency of these agents. Tenofovir plus either emtricitabine or lamivudine along with Ritonavir-boosted lopinavir or darunavir could be a reasonable treatment choice for HIV-2 infections. A high frequency of mutations including multiclass drug resistance mutations have been reported in HIV-2 patients on treatment.

Keywords: HIV-2, recombinant immunoblot assay, nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease inhibitors

Cite this Article

Pavani G. An Update on HIV-2 Infection. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Microbiology and Virology. 2018; 8(2): 34–42p