A team of scientists from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) claim they've developed a new type of antibody that can prevent people from contracting the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which could pave the way for a new treatment for people infected with HIV, reports thepaper.cn.

Their findings were recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The team, led by the director of HKU's AIDS Institute, Professor Chen Zhiwei, reported that the new antibody named BiIA-SG was able to attach to the HIV virus and prevent it from entering into their target cells. Tests by the team found that the antibody was effective against 124 strains of HIV.

When the antibody was injected into mice infected with HIV, their viral load dropped to an almost undetectable level for at least four weeks. At that point, 58 percent of the mice exhibited signs of a rebound in their viral load.

With the treatments current available, patients with HIV need to take a combination of three antiretroviral drugs each day to prevent a rebound in their viral load, according to Professor Chen.

The new antibody treatment is still in the basic research stage, and has only been tested on mice. Further tests are required before it can be considered for clinical trials in humans.

According to government figures, 9,091 people in Hong Kong were diagnosed with HIV between 1984 and 2017.