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Even though important new discoveries have been made about the scary Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), many people still don’t know much about it. Because of this, it still spreads quickly in our society. Most of the time, we hear the term HIV, but there are actually two kinds of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2.
Even though both of them cause the disease in the same way and kill the body’s defenses (white blood cells), HIV-1 is more common and is responsible for 99% of all HIV infections in the world. If someone has HIV, there is a very good chance that they also have HIV-1. But these two are not the same in important ways. In this article, I’d like to tell you how HIV-1 and HIV-2 are different, based on what Verywell Health says.
1. Origin
HIV-1 came from chimpanzees and gorillas in west Africa, where they lived. HIV-1 is more common among people in Nigeria and other countries in western Africa. While HIV-2 was found to have come from a type of monkey called the sooty mangabey, which lives in west Africa.
2. Predominance
HIV-1 is more common than HIV-2 because it can spread faster and can get past the body’s defenses (more virulent). Because HIV-1 is so common, most cases of HIV are thought to be HIV-1.
3. Rate of spread and mortality
HIV-1 is easier to spread and kills more quickly than HIV-2. Even though people with HIV-1 or HIV-2 will die from complications if they don’t get treatment, those with HIV-1 may have a higher chance of dying sooner because the disease moves quickly and kills more people.
4. Diagnosis
To tell the difference between HIV-1 and HIV-2, you can use a test called Multispot HIV-1/HIV-2. People from west Africa or who aren’t getting better from HIV treatments must be tested for HIV-1.
