Commentary: decline of HIV-2 prevalence in West Africa: good news or bad news?

摘要

The HIV pandemic is a continuing global health emergency. At the end of 2005, WHO and UNAIDS estimated that -40 million people are infected with HTV, with >60% of infections affecting people living in sub-Saharan Africa. The pandemic is very much dominated by infections with HIV type 1 (HIV-1), which was discovered in 1983. In 1987, a second type of virus was identified: HIV type 2 (HIV-2). It rapidly became clear that the epidemic of HIV-2 is limited to relatively few areas, mainly in the Portuguese-speaking part of Africa. The epicentre is located in West Africa, in and around Guinea Bissau.