“SUPER-INFECTION” REVISITED

A couple of knowledgeable readers have pointed out a wrinkle in the HIV super-infection study I cited earlier today. The study doesn’t provide any data on the viral loads of the HIV-positive individuals who did not experience super-infection or did not re-infect anyone else. It does suggest that very high levels of virus in the bloodstream (or semen) could make re-infection possible – that’s why the only case found was someone who had just sero-converted, when viral levels often go through the roof. But many healthy HIV-positive men have low viral loads – especially those on meds, who often have loads close to zero – and so, broadly speaking, my point holds. Two HIV-positive men with low viral loads are extremely unlikely to reinfect each other. That is a finding that should be explored in our attempt to find new ways to control the epidemic.