University of
Missouri professor honored for identifying new HIV strain

The African republic of Cameroon has awarded University of Missouri-Kansas City professor Carole P. McArthur its Traditional Medicine Award in recognition of her work to merge the treatments of native healers with modern medicine to fight HIV and for identifying a new strain of HIV in the country.

Cameroon, located in west-central Africa, is considered a hot spot for HIV mutations. McArthur reported in the August 20 edition of the journal AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses on having discovered a new strain of HIV, which could pose additional health hazards to Africans at risk of infection. The new strain could be the result of genetic mutations to a common strain of the virus already present in the region and may prove to be more resistant to anti-HIV drugs or more virulent than other viral strains. Tests on the new strain are currently under way.

About 600 people in Cameroon become infected with HIV every day.

McArthur will return to Cameroon in February to open a new HIV clinic, according to a UMKC press release. Since she began traveling to the northwest province of Cameroon about eight years ago, she has established a sprawling network of 12 hospitals and clinics. McArthur's facilities employ researchers from several states, including New York and California, as well as New Zealanders, a Canadian, and local Cameroonians. (Advocate.com)