Every fourth Russian resistant to AIDS thanks to mutant gene

Up to 1.5 percent of Russians have two mutant genes CKR-5 i.e. they are fully protected from HIV

For many years researchers in Saint Petersburg have been trying to understand why AIDS pandemic was not spreading through Russia's reckless population as fast as it was in other countries. The researchers arrived at sensational conclusions during their study.

The study involved 700 residents of Russian Federation including Russians, Tartars, Uzbeks, Azeris, Kazakhs and Georgians. It was conducted at the Ott Prenatal Diagnostics Laboratory by a team of researchers headed by Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Vladimir Baranov. The researchers come to the shocking conclusion: Russia's residents are genetically resistant to HIV.

Russians and Tartars happened to have the highest levels of resistance. Nature endowed every fourth Russian and every fourth Tartar with a gene that underwent mutation. The mutant gene ensures relative resistance to HIV. From 1% to 1.5% of our compatriots have two mutant genes CKR-5 i.e. they are fully protected from HIV.

Researchers from other countries showed interest in the study. As it turned out, the percentage of people with the mutant gene depends on nationality. Poland is a nation with the highest percentage of residents resistant to AIDS. From 26% to 27% percent of the Poles have the mutant gene protecting them against AIDS. The figures for England are 22%. Going East means a sharp drop in the number of the lucky ones. Only two or three percent of the Turks are resistant to AIDS. The Japanese are totally devoid of the mutant gene. The same applies to the people of the Negro race regardless of the country of origin.

The first studies of a genetically inherited predisposition of some people for AIDS were conducted by the Americans a few years ago. Researchers at the National Center for Cancer Studies wanted to know why some drug addicts and other people with a higher risk of infection never become HIV-positive. They found out that the genes in the bodies of some people kept the disease at bay. In other words, a single mutation of the gene CKR-5 did the trick.

A mutant gene strengthens the lymphocytes and eventually makes the body relatively resistant to HIV. However, it does not mean that the bearer of the gene is fully protected against the deadly virus. Only a handful of people have two identical mutations of the CKR-5. Such people are completely immune to AIDS.