Contrary to other tests that are able to detect drug-resistant strains when they represent a significant portion of the virus in a person's bloodstream, the new test developed at Duke could be of great help to doctors in choosing which medicines will successfully work for patients.
Dr. Feng Gao, a Duke HIV/AIDS researcher and co-author told is quoted in an AP report as saying, "This can be huge."
The article which was published online Sunday in the journal Nature Methods also said that so far, the test has been used for research purposes only as Duke is currently in the process of seeking patents for further trials.
Scientists believe that HIV drug-resistance is a major problem for patients who have never been treated with antiretroviral drugs.
According to Dr. Peter Leone, an HIV/AIDS doctor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and medical director of the state's HIV prevention branch, the test is an important milestone to the yet-unfinished research.
According to some of the latest research suggests done by investigators 15 percent or more of patients newly diagnosed with HIV harbor drug-resistant strains of the virus.
The test results works by picking up a common mutant strain that resists one of the first-line treatments for HIV. It would be easier for doctors to prescribe other medicines if patients test positive for that type of drug-resistant strain.
"It makes you choose a totally different treatment path," Hicks said.
