Definitions for "HIV-2"
a retrovirus closely related to simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) and less closely related to HIV-1. Symptoms of HIV-2 infection are similar to those of HIV-1 but are typically milder.
primarily confined to West Africa.
A virus closely related to HIV-1 (the more common of the two across the globe, including all cases contracted in the U.S.) that also causes immune suppression and AIDS. The two viruses are very similar, but immunodeficiency seems to develop more slowly and to be milder in people infected with HIV-2. The majority of HIV-2 cases have been found in West Africa. Not all drugs used to treat HIV-1 infection are effective against HIV-2.