NEW YORK (AFP) - Gay activists fear the announcement of a rare, highly virulent strain of the AIDS virus being found in a New York man may fuel panic of an HIV "superbug" and further stigmatise their community.
New York City health officials said last week that the strain, known as 3-DCR HIV, was unresponsive to three types of anti-retroviral medications and greatly accelerated the transition from infection to full-blown AIDS. The virus was diagnosed in a man in his late 40s who reported having unprotected sex with multiple male partners, often while using the highly potent narcotic crystal methamphetamine.
Some gay activists and AIDS specialists believe the New York Health Department jumped the gun with its announcement, arguing that a lot more research was required to determine the precise nature of the virus strain in question.
"Those who practice good science would have waited," said Martin Delaney, founder director of Project Inform, one of the oldest US non-profit AIDS organisations. "They would have shared and discussed the date with scientific peers and then -- most importantly -- they would have gone back to the labs and followed up on the patient for another six months before drawing any hard conclusions," he said.
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