Thanks for one of the best Global web HIV pages! Dose it exist any papers/research on: if the "standard" drug cocktail work just as well/bad for HIV-2 as for HIV-1 ? From Curious European

Hi. Thank you for your question and comments. HIV-2 is a very rare virus. It should therefore come as no surprise that there is very little information about treatments in persons infected with HIV-2. The vast majority of persons infected with HIV-2 are in Western Africa. Since persons in Western Africa have virtually no access to drug "cocktails" (which are almost exclusively available in "Developed" countries only ), we have almost no information of the use of these cocktails in persons with HIV-2 infection.

Some laboratory studies have shown that some of the protease inhibitors (such as Saquinivir) do have activity against HIV-2. But these studies have been done in laboratory settings, not in clinical practice. Remember, the vast majority of persons with HIV-2 infection do not have access to these drugs! Since both HIV-1 and HIV-2 are very similar to one another, we would expect that treatments that work against HIV-1 would most likely be effective against HIV-2 as well. But again, we have very little information on the success of treatments in persons with HIV-2 infection.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to e-mail me at "nvhotline@aol.com" or call me at 1-800-842-AIDS (Nationwide). I'm glad to help!