Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that is taking a toll worldwide and has 2 distinct types HIV-1 and HIV-2, with HIV-1 more prevalent worldwide and HIV-2 more confined to West Africa. HIV infects memory CD4+ T cells by CD4 cell receptor and CXCR4 co-receptor on CD4+ T cells via binding to gp120 on the viral envelope. The infection results in chronic immunosuppression, severely affecting quality of life.
Challenges to delivering optimal HIV diagnosis are evident, in particularly low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) taking a toll due to limited resources and lack of medical infrastructure. Traditionally, PCR is used to detect the presence of viral DNA. However, such tests are not optimal in LMICs due to the requirement of thermal cyclers, stable power source, substantial regents, labor costs with a risk of viral RNA degradation during transport to the laboratory. Thus, my research project in the following six weeks will focus on optimising a diagnostic LAMP assay for HIV that can be conducted in resource and manpower-limited settings.