The Beta Covid variant in patients with advanced Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) can create conditions that can lead to the evolution of dangerous mutations in SARS-CoV-2, researchers have warned, underlining the need to make sure everyone living with HIV has appropriate treatment.
Control of HIV with antiretroviral therapy could be the key to preventing the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in immune-compromised patients with advanced HIV, since clearance of the virus is compromised if HIV is allowed to replicate for a long time and results in major damage to the immune system, the researchers explained.
A team from the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa said that the case study is of a patient with advanced HIV who, despite having a mild Covid-19 infection, tested SARS-CoV-2 positive for 216 days.
Genomic sequencing revealed shifts in the patient’s SARS-CoV-2 viral population over time, involving multiple mutations at key sites, including the spike protein domain which SARS-CoV-2 uses to enter human cells.
The evolved virus was tested and shown to have variant-like properties in terms of its ability to escape antibodies.
“Evolved mutations lead to escape from neutralisation, which means antibodies made as a result of previous natural infection or vaccination would not work well to protect you from a new infection. SARS-CoV-2 may mutate extensively within one person if infection persists,” said Alex Sigal, from the institute.
