A new HIV-1 variant of subtype-B resides in the Netherlands. In fact, patients with this variant shows more obvious increase in viral load than other subtype-B cases. Also, CD4 cell count decline is twice as fast as in other subtype-B patients. Also, 30 years old patients without treatment reach 350 CD4 cells per cubic millimeter 9 months after diagnosis. As a matter of fact, genetic sequencing shows that this variant is from the 1990s due to de novo mutation. Besides, the variant shows unknown mechanism of virulence, and it is highly spread.

Reference:

-Wymant C, Bezemer D, Blanquart F, et al. A highly virulent variant of HIV-1 circulating in the Netherlands. Science. 2022;375(6580):540-545. doi:10.1126/science.abk1688