HIV-like virus attacks Asians but is not contagious

HIV-like virus attacks Asians but is not contagious Recently, researchers have confirmed a mysterious new disease that affects many Asians in Thailand, Taiwan, and some...

HIV-like virus attacks Asians but is not contagious Recently, researchers have identified a mysterious new disease that causes many Asians in Thailand, Taiwan, and some people in the United States to develop AIDS-like symptoms even if they are not infected with HIV. These patients' immune systems are damaged and cannot fight bacteria like healthy people. The Associated Press reports that researchers call this disease "Adult-onset IDS." It is still unclear what causes the disease, but it is known that it is not contagious. Sarah Brown, a scientist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, leads research into the disease. She said that this is another type of acquired immunodeficiency, which is not genetic and only occurs in adulthood, but it is not transmitted by viruses like AIDS. Brown led researchers in Thailand and Taiwan to conduct a six-month study on this disease that appeared after 2004. The results of the study were published in the "New England Journal of Medicine" scheduled to be published on the 23rd. The disease occurs around age 50 but is not related to family history, and some patients, including Asians now living in the United States, have died from severe infections, Brown said. AIDS is also known as "Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome". After a patient is infected with the HIV virus, the virus destroys the T cells in the immune system that fight bacteria. However, this new disease does not affect T cells, but will cause symptoms similar to AIDS, such as susceptibility to viruses, fungi and parasites, especially microbacteria similar to pneumonia. Brown said some patients' symptoms resolve after the infection subsides, but damage to the immune system can become chronic. Researchers say that the people who have had the disease so far have all been Asians, or people born in Asia and living elsewhere, suggesting that genetic or environmental factors may cause the disease. There are also many patients with the disease who may be misdiagnosed as pneumonia in many countries, Brown said.