Thursday, September 18, 2008

Natural resistance to infection with HIV-1 virus

What prevents a HIV positive mother from infecting her unborn baby? What prevents a highly exposed person from contracting HIV virus? What is the cause of discordance in HIV virus in couples and why are discordances in HIV infection between married couples on the rise?

The generally held perception has been that all individuals are equally susceptible to HIV virus, and once infected remain infected for life. However, there appears to be heterogeneity in susceptibility to HIV-1 virus, which may be occasioned by specific protective immunity possibly related to host genetics or barriers to transmission of HIV-1 virus variable in individuals.

Read more from kI's Health Editor, Robert Were Omange here.