--- title: HIV May Be Evolving To Become Less Contagious And Deadly, Study Shows description: The virus is adapting to the human immune system, say Oxford University researchers, emerging as a weaker form in the process. canonical: https://time.com/3613181/hiv-aids-milder-less-contagious-deadly/ author: Rishi Iyengar article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-02T04:07:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T02:29:37.996Z article:section: Health og:title: HIV May Be Getting Milder og:description: The virus is weakening as it adapts to the human immune system. og:url: https://time.com/3613181/hiv-aids-milder-less-contagious-deadly/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee067e9862f3f31c/69876bc206f2c154c23328c2/502865223.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 502865223 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: HIV May Be Getting Milder twitter:description: The virus is weakening as it adapts to the human immune system. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee067e9862f3f31c/69876bc206f2c154c23328c2/502865223.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # HIV May Be Evolving To Become Less Contagious And Deadly, Study Shows by [Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Dec 2, 2014 4:07 AM UTC  Illustration of the aids virus, showing protein membranes which enable it to attach itself to the host cells Illustration of the aids virus, showing protein membranes which enable it to attach itself to the host cellsGetty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Dec 2, 2014 4:07 AM UTC HIV may be naturally evolving into a milder and less fatal virus, according to recent study at Oxford University, which found that as HIV adapts to the human immune system it not only becomes less deadly but also less infectious. The main indicator, the scientists conducting the research said, is that HIV is taking longer to transition to AIDS. Virologists say it may eventually become “almost harmless,” [reports the BBC.](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30254697) The Oxford researchers came to this conclusion by comparing HIV infections in Botswana with those in South Africa, where the virus arrived 10 years later. They found that the time from the contracting of HIV to its emergence as full-blown AIDS was 10% longer in Botswana than in South Africa, indicating that a “watered-down” version has developed in the former. Oxford University Professor Phillip Goulder said that the time for the emergence of AIDS symptoms in Botswana may have increased to about 12.5 years from 10 years a couple of decades ago. “A sort of incremental change, but in the big picture that is a rapid change,” he said. “One might imagine as time extends this could stretch further and further and in the future people being asymptomatic for decades.” [\[BBC\]](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30254697) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3613181/hiv-aids-milder-less-contagious-deadly/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3613181/hiv-aids-milder-less-contagious-deadly/"},"headline":"HIV May Be Evolving To Become Less Contagious And Deadly, Study Shows","datePublished":"2014-12-02T04:07:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:29:37.996Z","description":"The virus is adapting to the human immune system, weakening itself in the process","url":"https://time.com/3613181/hiv-aids-milder-less-contagious-deadly/","keywords":["Infectious Disease","South Africa","study","Botswana"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee067e9862f3f31c/69876bc206f2c154c23328c2/502865223.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee067e9862f3f31c/69876bc206f2c154c23328c2/502865223.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"502865223","caption":"502865223","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3613181/hiv-aids-milder-less-contagious-deadly/","name":"HIV May Be Evolving To Become Less Contagious And Deadly, Study Shows"}}]}] ```