Desrosiers said that it is theoretically possible that one drug can be designed where the virus cannot mutate without becoming inactive, but it is "much more likely that combinations of drugs will be a more effective therapy."

Shaw plans to explore the HIV and CD4 relationship at earlier stages of disease, look at cellular targets that harbor HIV and replicate with varying efficiency, and to evaluate the number of pre-existing mutants of HIV.

None of the researchers are claiming a victory over AIDS yet, but studies like these advance the knowledge of how HIV works. Desrosiers said that researchers must "keep at it."

The Battle HIV vs, Immune System

Scientists have shed more light on the rates of replication and mutation of HIV.

  HIV  infected T CellNumber  100 million to 1 billion viruses produced each day.  Two billion infected cells or T cells, which are 5% of the total T cells in the body.After two days  Half of the viruses die and are replaced by roughly in equal amount of new viruses.  Half of the infected T cells die and are replaced by new T cells.Effect of anti-HIV drugs  Initially, over 99% of the viruses can be killed with drugs like nevirapine.  The healthy T cell count increases.After two weeks  After mutations, almost all of the new viruses are drug resistant or immune.  The healthy T cell count decresses and new T cells are infected with the drug-resistant viruses.Source: Natura Magazine, New York Time