New sub-type of Group M has been found (HIV-1 Group M, subtype L)

[Jim Allen]

Interesting find, always something new with HIV.

The identification of the new strain marks the first time a new sub-type of Group M has been found since 2000.

In full by sciencefocus.com
https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/new-strain-of-hiv-identified-more-than-35-years-after-it-was-first-discovered/

In short;

Before an unusual virus can be determined a new subtype, three cases of it must be discovered independently.

The first two samples of the new HIV-1 Group M, subtype L were discovered in DRC in the 1983 and 1990.

The third, collected in 2001, was difficult to sequence at the time because of the amount of virus in the sample and the existing technology.

Global healthcare company Abbott made the discovery, which is published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS).

The new Group M strain will not change the way HIV is diagnosed or treated and simply means that people are tested for the new strain as well.

Existing diagnostic tests and antiretroviral drugs, which suppress the growth of HIV, are designed to target the parts of the virus that are common to all groups.