A NEW, possibly more virulent variant of the HIV virus that causes AIDS has spread from Asia to Britain, a British science magazine reported yesterday.
The subtype, known as type E, is most common in Thailand. Some studies indicate it might spread more easily than other variants.
Most cases of HIV infection in Britain are subtype B, which is spread mostly by homosexual contact. Type E is more common among heterosexuals.
One case of type E was found in Britain in May. Since then, New Scientist said, 72 more cases had been identified.
"Once there's a critical mass of a more infectious type of HIV, the disease could take off more in the heterosexual population than it has already," Dr Barry Evans, an epidemiologist at the government's Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS), told the magazine.
It said the new cases among 60 men and 12 women were probably picked up in Thailand, or from partners who had been there.