Infectious diseases expert Dr. Dave Wessner explores what we know, and what we don’t know, about the effect of Covid-19 on HIV-positive people.
As the world is confronted with the Covid-19 pandemic, it is simple that we also face another global epidemic: AIDS. Since 1981, an estimated 33 million more people have died from AIDS-related diseases, totaling around 700,000 in 2019. Approximately 38 million other people worldwide are recently inflamed with HIV and in the United States, about 36,000 new infections occur each year. Despite the availability of effective antiretroviral treatment, there is still no cure for HIV/AIDS. There’s no vaccine yet.
To fully perceive the ramifications of Covid-19, public fitness researchers and doctors are reading the effect of these two infectious diseases against each other. In particular, scientists are exploring 3 possible intersections; the threat of SARS-CoV-2 infection in other people living with HIV, the severity of Covid-19 in other people co-infected with coronavirus and HIV, and the possible effect of antiretroviral drugs on coronavirus infections.
Are there other people living with HIV at increased risk of inflame with SARS-CoV-2?
Not really. It makes sense for other people living with HIV to be more at risk of inflamed with the new coronavirus. After all, one characteristic of HIV/AIDS is the minimisation of the functioning of the immune formula and a greater threat of opportunistic infections.
In a recent study published in The Lancet HIV, Spanish researchers began to address this speculation by comparing the rate of coronavirus infection in other HIV-positive people who noticed in their clinics with the rate of infection in the community at large. At the time of their examination, 1.8% (51/2873) of other HIV-positive people who attended their clinic had shown or suspected cases of Covid-19 in the laboratory. In the general population, the rate was about 4%. When only laboratory-proven cases of coronavirus infection were included, the infection rate was 1.2% among others living with HIV and 0.92% in the general population.
These effects do not demonstrate a greater threat of SARS-CoV-2 infection in others living with HIV, but they imply that other people living with HIV have a similar threat of Covid-19 infection than other PEOPLE who are HIV-negative.
What about the effects of coronavirus on other people living with HIV?
It turns out that other people living with HIV don’t seem to do any worse than other people without HIV, suggesting that the virus doesn’t get worse by Covid-19. To answer this question, researchers from the Spanish study also characterized the clinical manifestations of Covid-19 in other people co-infected with SARS-CoV-2 and HIV and compared to previous reports of Covid-19 outbreaks in the general population. . For the most part, Covid-19 presented the same way in other people with or without underlying HIV infection. In one study, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, researchers also explored the effects of Covid-19 on other HIV-positive people. Again, other people living with HIV have been no worse than others without underlying HIV infections, suggesting that HIV does not exacerbate the effects of Covid-19.
Could some HIV/AIDS medications be used to treat or save your Covid-19?
Maybe. Interestingly, an examination published in Annals of Internal Medicine showed fewer SARS-CoV-2 infections and less severe cases of Covid-19 in other people living with HIV who were a specific drug, Truvada, compared to other HIV-positive people taking other medications. .
In this study, researchers evaluated more than 77,000 other people who were HIV-positive. Of these, 236 were laboratory-confirmed with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Although 16% of all other people living with HIV took Truvada (TDF/FTC), only 9% (21/236) of other HIV-positive people diagnosed with the new coronavirus took this drug formulation. In other words, other people who took TDF/FTC gave the impression that they are less likely to be inflamed by the coronavirus. Similarly, other HIV-positive people diagnosed with Covid-19 and taking TDF/FTC were less likely to be hospitalized than other HIV-positive people with Covid-19 who were receiving other antiretroviral treatments.
What do those tell us?
None of these studies show an increase in the rate of coronavirus infection or an increase in the severity of Covid-19 disease in others living with HIV. In fact, the Annals of Internal Medicine article provides evidence that certain antiretroviral drugs would possibly have a favorable effect. However, it should be noted that all these studies have limitations. They’re small. They are observational and not experimental. They do not adequately take into account age differences or various comorities, which largely points to the dangers of Covid-19.
However, it seems that other people living with HIV and receiving antiretroviral treatment sometimes do not have a greater threat of Covid-19. However, it should be noted that published studies on the confluence of Covid-19 and HIV/AIDS have taken a position in Europe or North America. Little can be obtained about the intersection of these two epidemics in Africa. Because sub-Saharan Africa bears a disproportionate burden of HIV/AIDS and lack of resources, the intersection of Covid-19 and HIV/AIDS in this region wants to be rigorously monitored.
Full policy and updates on the coronavirus
Professor of Biology at Davidson College, David Wessner teaches introductory courses in biology, microbiology and HIV/AIDS. His research interests come viral
Professor of Biology at Davidson College, David Wessner teaches introductory courses in biology, microbiology and HIV/AIDS. His research interests come with viral pathogenization. He recently co-wrote Microbiology, a textbook for biology graduates, and The Cartoon Guide to Biology. He also co-organized Re/Presenting HIV/AIDS, an exhibition featuring HIV-like art. Prior to joining Davidson’s faculty, David studied at Navy Medical Center in Washington, DC. He won his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Harvard University and his BA in Biology from Franklin and Marshall College.