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Saturday, Oct. 1, 2005

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Over the next 50 to 60 years the AIDS virus, which has wreaked havoc around the globe for over 20 years, could lose its killer capabilities.

That's the stunning conclusion of a study at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, reports BBC News.

"Maybe in another 50 to 60 years we might see this virus not causing death," said Dr. Eric Artz, one of the Belgian researchers.

"This was a very preliminary study, but we did find a pretty striking observation in that the viruses from the 2000s are much weaker than the viruses from the eighties."

In the study, scientists at the Institute compared HIV samples taken from the late 1980s to those taken from 2002-2003.

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They found that the newer samples could not multiply as well as the older ones. Plus the newer samples were more sensitive to drugs.

The scientists believe that as HIV passes from person to person it's destructive effects are toned down by the various immune systems, so that it gradually weakens.

However, the scientists stress that the AIDS virus is still a killer today.

"Obviously this virus is still causing death, although it may be causing death at a slower rate of progression now," said Dr. Artz.

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