Overview
HIV-2 is the second type of human immunodeficiency virus, a lentivirus closely related to but genetically distinct from HIV-1, and like HIV-1 it can cause progressive immune deficiency and AIDS. Epidemiologically it is concentrated in West Africa, with comparatively limited spread elsewhere, and clinically it is generally characterized by lower plasma viral loads, slower CD4 decline, reduced transmissibility, and a longer asymptomatic course than HIV-1, though it can still progress to immunodeficiency. HIV-2 shares the CD4-dependent tropism and the reverse transcriptase, integrase, and protease enzymology of HIV-1, but it exhibits important differences in drug susceptibility, notably intrinsic resistance to certain antiretroviral classes, which has consequences for treatment selection and for the design of diagnostic assays that must distinguish the two types. Accurate differentiation between HIV-1 and HIV-2 is therefore clinically and epidemiologically significant. The surrounding literature addresses HIV more broadly, including risk-reduction interventions, antiretroviral management, sexually transmitted infection prevalence and comorbidity, vaccination in people living with HIV, disclosure and pediatric care, diagnostic testing pitfalls, and the sociocultural context of infection. The journal publishes peer-reviewed research on HIV and sexually transmitted infections, including the virology, diagnosis, and management relevant to HIV-2.
Research published in this journal
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
How this research is being cited
The 12 articles above have been cited 23 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
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2026 · Discover Public Health
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J. E. Tawiah et al. · 2025 · AIDS Care
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2025 · HIV Medicine
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2025 · AIDS Care
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2025 · HIV Medicine
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2024 · Case Reports in Clinical Medicine
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2024 · Case Reports in Clinical Medicine
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2024 · Heliyon
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Hiv-2, linking to each citing work.