'Orphan' Virus Could Help Fight HIV

[Guest guest]

I wonder if we should be "bug chaising" this bug

Several studies in the past have also said this

CANADA: "'Orphan' Virus Could Help Fight HIV" Toronto Star (08.15.06):: ph HallAt the 16th International AIDS Conference, University of Toronto (UT) researchers reported that GBV-C, a virus closely related to hepatitis pathogens, has been shown to inhibit the ability of HIV to infect target blood cells. As such, scientists said, it has the potential to form the basis of an HIV vaccine. If the virus proves to be as benign to humans as it now appears, "prevention strategies related to using this virus" might be possible, said Dr. Peggy Millson of UT's public health sciences department.The study followed 1,440 HIV-infected mothers in Thailand, of whom 19 percent also carried active GBV-C. "If the mother managed to transmit [GBV-C] to her infant, as happened in about 41 percent of cases. their [baby's] chance of being HIV-infected was only 2 percent," said Supapol, a PhD student in epidemiology at UT. "In the GBV-C negative infants, it was 13 percent.""They call it an orphan virus; it's not known to cause any diseases in humans," Supapol said of GBV-C, which is a 98 percent genetic match to hepatitis C but appears to have no harmful effect. Previous studies have found that HIV-positive people co-infected with GBV-C fared better than those with HIV alone. In some long-term studies, people who remained co-infected with HIV and GBV-C did better than those whose bodies cleared GBV-C over time. Lab tests, Supapol said, found that GBV-C reduced the number of receptors on the cell surface, and there was a 99 percent reduction in HIV's ability to infect white blood cells previously exposed to GBV-C. She added, however, there is no evidence GBV-C alone can protect adults against HIV, and scientists are currently split on the question of whether the virus itself or a related process is blocking HIV.

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