A new HIV variant with higher virulence has been discovered in a study led by the University of Oxford and the results are published in Science. Individuals with the VB variant had a viral load (the level of the virus in the blood) between 3.5 and 5.5 times higher. The VB variant causes a more rapid decline in immune system strength, which makes early diagnosis and treatment critical. https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2022-02-04-new-highly-virulent-and-damaging-hiv-variant-discovered-netherlands