A new model for HIV progression shows that it spreads in a similar way to some computer 'worms ' . HIV specialists and network security experts at University College London ( UCL ) made the disovery after creating a simulation of how the virus spreads . They worked together to build a model for this 'hybrid spreading ' which accurately predicted patients ' progression from HIV to AIDS in a major clinical trial - and say early treatment is key to staving off AIDS . Scroll down for video . Researchers creates a model 'hybrid spreading ' which accurately predicted patients ' progression from HIV to AIDS in a major clinical trial - and say the spread was similar to a computer virus . HIV infects CD4+ T-cells , which play a vital role in the immune system and protect us from diseases . As HIV progresses , it reduces the number of active T-cells in the body until the immune system can not function correctly , a state known as 'acquired immune deficiency syndrome ' or AIDS . Current World Health Organisation guidelines , which the UK government follows , recommend only beginning HIV treatment when the number of T-cells in the bloodstream falls below a certain level . However , the new model predicts that treatment should start as soon as possible after infection to prevent AIDS from developing in the long term . The teams noticed that the spread of HIV through the body using two methods - via the bloodstream and directly between cells - was similar to how some computer worms spread through both the internet and local networks respectively to infect as many computers as possible . The model was inspired by similarities between HIV and computer worms such as the highly damaging 'Conficker ' worm , first detected in 2008 , which has infected military and police computer networks across Europe and is still active today . Lead author Changwang Zhang , of UCL , said : 'HIV and Conficker have a lot in common . 'They both use hybrid spreading mechanisms , persist for a very long time and are incredibly difficult to eradicate . 'Our model enables us to explain these important properties and to predict the infection process . ' Changwang 's supervisor co-author Dr Shi Zhou said : 'Although the cybersecurity community organised an unprecedented collaboration to tackle Conficker , they still failed to eliminate Conficker from the Internet . 'HIV researchers face a similar problem . We hope that our new understanding of hybrid epidemics will help us to fight against Conficker and HIV . ' Detailed sample data from 17 HIV patients from London were used to verify the model , showing that hybrid spreading provides the best explanation for HIV progression and highlighting the benefits of early treatment . HIV infects CD4+ T-cells , which play a vital role in the immune system and protect us from diseases . As HIV progresses , it reduces the number of active T-cells in the body until the immune system can not function correctly , a state known as 'acquired immune deficiency syndrome ' or AIDS . Current World Health Organisation guidelines , which the UK government follows , recommend only beginning HIV treatment when the number of T-cells in the bloodstream falls below a certain level . However , the new model predicts that treatment should start as soon as possible after infection to prevent AIDS from developing in the long term . Co-senior author Professor Benny Chain , of UCL , said : 'The number of HIV cells in the bloodstream is always relatively low , and our model shows that HIV spread through the bloodstream alone would not be enough to cause AIDS . The model was inspired by similarities between HIV and computer worms such as the highly damaging 'Conficker ' worm , first detected in 2008 , which has infected military and police computer networks across Europe and is still active today . 'It is likely that when HIV gains a foothold somewhere with a high T-cell population , such as the gut , it uses a cell-to-cell transfer mechanism to efficiently spread directly between them . As such , if HIV has already spread to an area rich in T-cells by the time treatment begins , preventing its spread through the bloodstream will not stop AIDS . 'Our model suggests that completely blocking cell-to-cell transfer would prevent progression to AIDS , highlighting the need to develop new treatments . ' Laboratory research , led by co-senior author Dr Clare Jolly , has previously shown that some drugs are better than others at stopping HIV from spreading directly between cells . However , it 's not possible to directly measure cell-to-cell spread in patients because it takes place inside internal organs . Dr Jolly said : 'With this new model , we should be able to assess the effectiveness of drugs against different modes of HIV spread in real patients . 'This could prove invaluable when interpreting the results of drug trials to understand what works and why . Using computer models to understand processes that we can not directly observe is common in the physical sciences and supports many fundamental theories . 'Our model provides strong evidence that cell-to-cell spread is an important part of HIV spread , and we hope to show this directly in future animal studies . ' .
New model accurately predicted patients ' progression from HIV to AIDS . Inspired by similarities between HIV and computer worms such as the highly damaging 'Conficker ' worm , first detected in 2008 . Model found early treatment is key to staving off AIDS .