Scientists Find Aggressive New HIV Strain (Seems Confined To West Africa)

Swedish scientists have identified a new strain of HIV that appears to progress much faster than most previously identified variations of the virus.

The new strain, known as A3/02, is a recombinant, meaning it is a cross between two previously identified HIV strains. Writing in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, Lund University researchers said that the infection moves from HIV to full-blown AIDS in about five years, nearly two- to two-and-a-half years faster than most previously known strains.

So far the new infection seems confined to West Africa.