GERMAN MAN PRONOUNCED CURED OF HIV

John McDonald

Another breakthrough case is creating hope that a cure for HIV is near.

Scientists in Germany announced a 53-year-old man has been cured of the virus that causes AIDS.

Known as the Düsseldorf patient, he becomes the fifth reported HIV cure case.

Research published in the journal Nature Medicine shows a stem cell transplant to treat leukemia in the patient was successful in ridding his body of HIV. The man was monitored for nine years following the bone marrow transplant that introduced rare HIV resistant variant cells into his blood.

The Düsseldorf patient was diagnosed with leukemia in 2011 and underwent the transplant in 2013. He went off antiretroviral therapy in 2018 and tests have found no detectable HIV.

The latest cure case continues the remarkable strides scientists have made against a disease that was once considered a quick killer. With antiretroviral therapy (ART) HIV-positive people can live near normal life spans and reach untransmittable status.

There are also medications available (PrEP PEP) that prevent the transmission of the virus before and after an exposure.

The CDC reports from 1990 to 2019, deaths from HIV decreased 86%.

In 2021, there were 38.4 million people globally living with the virus.