HIV is fighting back. Drug-resistant strains now account for a tenth of new infections in North America, and the proportion is rising rapidly.
Although almost all patients with these resistant strains still respond to antiviral drug cocktails, they respond more slowly, emphasising the need to develop new drugs to combat resistance. The author of the study, Douglas Richman of the University of California, San Diego, also thinks all newly infected patients should be screened for resistance, so they can get the most effective treatment right from the start, although not all experts agree.
Antiviral drugs are the only effective weapon…
