Were host factors or superinfection the key to case of rapid HIV progression?

Doctors from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort (MACs) study have reported a retrospective case of HIV superinfection. The case report is published in the August 15th edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases. The investigators note that their patient became superinfected with dual-tropic HIV between eight and 15 months after his initial HIV seroconversion. This lead to a rapid increase in the patient’s viral load, although there was no significant impact on the individual’s already falling CD4 cell count.

The investigators believe that the patient’s immunological and genetic characteristics may have been important factors in his superinfection. Like all but one of the cases of superinfection reported so far, this patient’s superinfection occurred soon after his initial infection with HIV.

The frequency of HIV superinfection (or reinfection) and its consequences are largely unknown. There have been several case reports of superinfection, but such reports have been rare, and careful laboratory tests are needed to verify if superinfection has indeed occurred.

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