Between 1995 and 1998, less than four per cent of the patients caught resistant virus. In 1999 and 2000, this rose to 14 per cent. Six per cent of these had a virus resistant to two drugs. Most of those who catch HIV never realize it until years later. However, patients occasionally realize it soon after infection because they get temporary flu-like symptoms.
Some doctors recommend immediate drug treatment for such patients.
In these cases, Little said doctors should check their patients' viruses to see if they are resistant to any drugs before starting therapy. However, a record of the resistant virus is stored in patients' immune systems, and it can re-emerge once treatment starts. Another study, conducted by Dr. Hillard Weinstock of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, raises the possibility that the level of resistant virus varies greatly among different risk groups. Weinstock's team surveyed 603 people newly diagnosed with HIV in 10 cities. It found that 16 per cent of white homosexual men had resistant virus, compared with three per cent of blacks who caught the virus heterosexually.