Although its origin is unknown, for just over 35 years HIV has become one of humanity’s greatest enemies. Estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) state that It has caused 36.3 million deaths, although the figure could be higher. There are people who have the disease for years and never know it. But although there is still no cure, now an extraordinary event has been reported. She is the second patient in history to clear the virus from her body without the need for medical treatment.
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Before proceeding further, it is necessary to point out that the pharmacological industry has made important advances in recent years. Among the most important are antiretrovirals that are essential for infected people. When the indications are strictly followed, it is possible to prolong life, although it is by no means a cure.
On the other hand, there is the development of a vaccine that seems to be close but has not yet been achieved. One of the most advanced projects is named Mosaic and is run by Johnson & Johnson. Precisely at the beginning of this 2021 it managed to advance to phase 3 of clinical trials in a fact that no other work has achieved. While the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition “Salvador Zubirán” is one of the spaces authorized to participate in the final phase of tests.
HIV patient removes the virus from his body
Meanwhile, what happened to an infected woman whose identity is not known but has been baptized as “Patient Hope” because she lives in the city of the same name in Argentina has now become known. The surprising thing is that without the need to consume drugs, he managed to eradicate the virus.
In accordance with CNN, the patient was diagnosed with HIV in March 2013, although she started antiretroviral treatment until 2019 when she became pregnant. At that time, she took the drugs tenofovir, emtricitabine, and raltegravir for six months in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. While she managed to give birth to a healthy baby although at that time she stopped therapy.
Now the case has been published in the specialized magazine Annals of Internal Medicine. What is mentioned is that when doing a complete review, the woman presents evidence of intact HIV genomes in more than 1.5 billion blood and tissue cells analyzed. This suggests that the virus has been eliminated from the patient’s body.
At the moment it is risky to consider that it is cured but at least there is no evolution of the disease that can lead to AIDS. The biggest mystery is knowing how this feat was achieved. While it is considered that what happened could be essential to design new drugs and even a vaccine.
However, it is the first time in Latin America that a patient with HIV eliminates the virus from her body naturally, although the second in history. The first case of this type occurred a couple of years ago with the “Patient San Francisco” from the United States. Quite similarly, he managed to eradicate the virus from his body without the need for medical treatment and to date he is reported healthy. With this, there are already two people who have managed to overcome HIV and could lay the foundations for an eventual cure.