Edsel Salvaña: The dangerous evolution of HIV
TED Fellow Edsel Salvaña studies the genetics of HIV, and he worries that we are just a few mutations away from the next deadly pandemic. Full bio
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and bluest skies on the planet.
HIV epidemics in the world.
as if we are just a late bloomer.
for our current epidemic
a global resurgence of HIV.
continue to drop in the world,
and resistant viruses arrive.
into a new and different virus
we've made in reversing the epidemic,
viral mutations away from disaster.
in which HIV transforms itself
among humans of different races
is only 0.1 percent.
and rhesus macaques,
between HIV subtypes
between an infecting mother virus
as much as five percent.
giving birth to a chimpanzee,
within its lifetime.
being discovered regularly.
is almost all of one subtype:
and do to treat HIV
accounts for 12 percent
of cases of HIV in the world.
genetic difference
to become drug-resistant
of HIV cases in the Philippines
from the Western subtype B
Southeast Asian subtype AE.
in developed countries,
Canada and the United States.
explosion of cases in these countries.
it can come right back.
malaria was on the ropes.
stopped paying attention.
of drug-resistant malaria.
that we think we've figured out,
and highly unique viruses,
the next deadly epidemic.
more powerful and new tools
the next deadly HIV strain,
with urgent research
of non-B subtypes.
of an AIDS-free generation.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Edsel Salvaña - Infectious disease specialist, molecular epidemiologistTED Fellow Edsel Salvaña studies the genetics of HIV, and he worries that we are just a few mutations away from the next deadly pandemic.
Why you should listen
Dr. Edsel Salvaña discovered that the driving force behind a new AIDS epidemic in the Philippines is the entry and spread of a deadlier strain of HIV -- a situation that can easily occur anywhere in the world.
Salvaña is an infectious disease specialist, molecular epidemiologist and is the director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the National Institutes of Health at the University of the Philippines in Manila. He is using next-generation sequencing and other cutting-edge genetic tools to study HIV viral diversity and superinfection. He is looking at how HIV develops drug resistance to better understand why his country suddenly has the fastest growing HIV epidemic in Asia; and why HIV treatment that works well in developed countries is failing on emerging HIV strains in the Philippines and resource-limited settings. He trains doctors in infectious diseases, and supervises the care of several thousand HIV patients at the Philippine General Hospital. He has been a national force in the formulation of HIV treatment guidelines, campaigning against stigma, and raising awareness.
Salvaña's advocacy work has been featured in Science, and he has been recognized with numerous national and international awards including the "Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World" from JCI International and the Young Physician Leader Award from the Interacademy Medical Panel of the World Academy of Sciences. He was named a TED Fellow in 2017.
Edsel Salvaña | Speaker | TED.com