Scientists have identified the first new strain of HIV since the year 2000.

It the first time a new subtype of Group M HIV has been identified since classification guidelines were established at the turn of the century.

Group M viruses are responsible for the global pandemic, which can be traced back to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Researchers say the new discovery helps them to stay one step ahead of a mutating virus and avoid new pandemics.

Before an unusual virus can be determined a new subtype, three cases of it must be discovered independently.

Independent campaign with the Elton John AIDS Foundation Show all 10 1 /10 Independent campaign with the Elton John AIDS Foundation Independent campaign with the Elton John AIDS Foundation Sir Elton John and Evgeny Lebedev The Independent has launched it's Christmas charity appeal for essential HIV testing around the world with the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Funds raised will pay for those at risk to be able to get tested, and will make sure they have access to the treatment they need. Sir Elton John and Evgeny Lebedev with their HIV test swabs at the Ponce Centre in Atlanta Jeremy Selwyn Independent campaign with the Elton John AIDS Foundation Elton John and Andrew Williams Andrew Williams had never heard of the word HIV when he tested positive. It was his mother who had forced him to go to the doctor where he got the diagnosis that he thought was a death sentence. At that time he was in a wheelchair. It was the unbearable itching of his back that finally got him to get medical help but, he discovered, he not only had HIV but diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease. That was two years ago. This week, as the 31-year-old joined Sir Elton John and Evening Standard and The Independent owner Evgeny Lebedev in Atlanta to witness the revolutionary new breakthroughs against the disease at the city’s Grady Ponce De Leon Centre, there was no need for a wheelchair. Nor, he now knew, was there any need for fear Jeremy Selwyn Independent campaign with the Elton John AIDS Foundation Evgeny Lebedev and Andrew Williams Within two months of starting the latest antiretroviral drugs, the virus in his body had become undetectable in his blood. Not only is he now healthy, partly due to the drugs and partly due to the healthy lifestyle adopted for his other illnesses, but he can virtually not pass the infection to other people. He feels, he says, “reborn”. “I have a reason to live,” he explained, “and that is to help people who were like me – and to show you’re going to be OK.” Jeremy Selwyn Independent campaign with the Elton John AIDS Foundation It was a message so stark in its optimism that it reduced Sir Elton to tears. He knows first-hand the realities of what, in the past, an HIV diagnosis can mean. When he started his Elton John AIDS Foundation in the US in 1992, it was because his friends were dying and he wanted to do what he could, anything that he could, to help. “When we set up the Elton John AIDS Foundation we were delivering meals to people’s doors,” he said. “[The stigma meant] they would not go outside. We have come a long way.” Jeremy Selwyn Independent campaign with the Elton John AIDS Foundation But part of the reason for his tears was not only happiness at Andrew’s story. It was also the knowledge that, despite all the advances that have been made, the fight is far from won – indeed, in some parts of the world, things are getting worse. Sir Elton John with everyone at the Ponce Centre in Atlanta Jeremy Selwyn Independent campaign with the Elton John AIDS Foundation It is why he and Mr Lebedev had come to Atlanta to mark the first day of our Christmas Appeal, for that city, sadly, is one place where the situation is not only getting worse but, as those at the centre made clear, dramatically so. Jeremy Selwyn Independent campaign with the Elton John AIDS Foundation Sir Elton John with Vic Mensa at the Ponce Centre Jeremy Selwyn Independent campaign with the Elton John AIDS Foundation Sir Elton John with his HIV test swab In Atlanta, one of America’s richest cities and the home of such international corporate giants as Coca-Cola and CNN, if you are a gay black man in 2018 then, unbelievably, you still have a one in two chance of being diagnosed as HIV positive during your lifetime. Jeremy Selwyn Independent campaign with the Elton John AIDS Foundation Elton John with the mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms Jeremy Selwyn Independent campaign with the Elton John AIDS Foundation Elton John talks at the Ponce Centre Jeremy Selwyn

The first two samples of the new HIV-1 Group M, subtype L were discovered in DRC in the 1980s and the 1990s.

The third, collected in 2001, was difficult to sequence at the time because of the amount of virus in the sample and the existing technology.

Global healthcare company Abbott made the discovery, which is published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (Jaids).

Carole McArthur, a professor at the University of Missouri, and one of the study’s authors, said: “In an increasingly connected world, we can no longer think of viruses being contained to one location.

“This discovery reminds us that to end the HIV pandemic, we must continue to out-think this continuously changing virus and use the latest advancements in technology and resources to monitor its evolution.”

Latest genome sequencing technology allows researchers to build an entire genome at higher speeds and lower costs.

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In order to make the most of this technology, Abbott scientists developed and applied new techniques to help narrow in on the virus portion of the sample to fully sequence and complete the genome.

The new Group M strain will not change the way HIV is diagnosed or treated, and simply means that people are tested for the new strain as well.

Existing diagnostic tests and anti-retroviral drugs, which suppress the growth of HIV, are designed to target the parts of the virus that are common to all groups.

Dr Michael Brady, medical director at Terrence Higgins Trust said: “Scientific progress in our understanding of HIV continues to move at a fast pace. It’s important to stress that there are many different strains of HIV, but our ability to detect and treat the virus remains the same.

“Thanks to medical advances, HIV is now a long-term manageable condition and people on effective treatment can’t pass the virus on. Latest statistics from Public Health England show that around 7 per cent of people living with HIV in the UK are unaware of their status – that’s why regular HIV testing is vital and we will be getting that message out there as part of National HIV Testing Week later this month.

“We now have the tools to end new HIV transmissions once and for all, and breaking down barriers to testing will help us achieve that goal.”