UNAIDS: Globally, 1 In 7 Children Born With HIV Is Nigerian

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a more transmissible and damaging sub-type of HIV has been isolated.

Individuals who are living with the newly revealed subtype, experience double the rate of immune system decline (which is measured by the CD4 count level of infection-busting T cells) and have higher viral loads.

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The organisation has stated that the newly identified variant does not represent a major public health threat but that it does underscore the urgency of speeding up the UN’s drive to end AIDS.

In a statement, Eamonn Murphy, the UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, noted that around 10 million people living with HIV are still not on antiretroviral therapy, “fuelling the continued spread of the virus and potential for further variants.”