Retrovirus meeting - Novel attacks on HIV move closer to reality - At a recent conference, AIDS researchers reported new insights into the epidemic's origins and progress on treatment and prevention

Novel methods of treating the multidrug-resistant Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are having degrees of success. The drug MK-0518 inhibits the integrase enzyme which the virus needs to copy itself. Experiments with monkeys and the antiviral drug tenofovir have shown promise in prevention strategies such as pre-exposure prophylaxis. Scientists studying chimpanzees in Cameroon have reported evidence of a widespread Simian immunodeficiency virus infection in isolated populations. For the virus to spread to humans it is thought that someone became infected in rural Cameroon and then traveled by river to Kinshasa, where it is believed that the virus has been present longer than anywhere else.