Up to 11 per cent of HIV sufferers in poor countries risk becoming resistant to AIDS-prevention drugs, which could cause hundreds of thousands to die from the condition, new research reveals.
Some 11.1 per cent of HIV-positive people in southern Africa carry a mutation that could cause them to become resistant to recommended AIDS-prevention drugs, known as non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI), which control the virus’ replication, a UK study found today.
Those who have previously taken drugs that block viruses from reproducing after entering cells are more likely to carry such mutations, which in some regions is up to 30 per cent of the population, the research adds.
Without action, such resistance could result in 890,000 more AIDS deaths and 450,000 more HIV infections in Sub-Saharan Africa alone before 2030, according to the researchers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends countries switch to more reliable first-line AIDS treatments to combat drug resistance.
