Dual HIV infection hampers vaccine research

South African AIDS researchers on Wednesday said it had become increasingly common for people to contract more than one strain of HIV. A report presented by the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the current national HIV/AIDS conference said: "The challenge of more than one HIV subtype has hampered the development of effective HIV vaccines and made it difficult to treat people with dual infection." The institute cautioned that, unlike 'flu, each time a person was exposed to HIV they risked reinfection. People infected with more than one type of HIV also showed a rapid progression towards AIDS. HIV-positive people were urged to use condoms when having sex, particularly if it was with a partner who was also HIV-positive.