wild-type virus – HIV that has no drug resistance mutations.
This is usually the virus that you were first infected with. However, approximately 10% of people who are diagnosed with HIV in the UK are likely to already have resistance to one or more HIV drugs.
This is called transmitted drug resistance. This is also why everyone diagnosed with HIV should also have a resistance tests.
Rates of transmitted drug resistance vary in different countries.
candida – fungus (yeast) infection that affects the mouth and throat, gullet, sinuses, genital organs and – rarely – the brain. Also called ‘thrush’.
varices – extended or swollen veins in the liver that can burst. They can be a complication of cirrhosis.
revertant mutation – this term is used in two ways.
Firstly when referring to a genetic change that shows the virus is returning from a drug resistant mutation back to a wild-type genotype. This can sometimes take several stages. For example, T215E/D/E and S are revertant mutations that can indicate the drug resistant mutation T215Y is being replaced by wild-type (i.e. T215T).
It can also refer to the fitness of a virus. A revertant mutation can refer to an additional mutation that allows the virus to regain viral fitness (most drug mutations also make the vurs less fit). The second example is called a compensatory mutation as is compensates for the reduced fitness caused by the first mutation.
protozoa – a single-celled animals that are larger and more complex than bacteria.