The latest post by CNN International on Twitter states,
A second HIV patient may have been ‘cured’ of infection without stem cell treatment, in extremely rare case
(CNN)Researchers say they have found a second patient whose body seemingly had rid itself of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS — supporting hope that it may be possible someday to find a way to cure more people of the virus.
- The patient, eight years after she was first diagnosed, shows no signs of active infection and shows no signs of intact virus anywhere in her body, researchers say.
- As it is announced 15/11/2021, the patient has received no regular treatment for her infection but is a rare «elite controller» of the virus who, eight years after she was first diagnosed, shows no signs of active infection and shows no signs of intact virus in her body.
- This has only been reported once before.
- The 30-year-old woman in the new study is only the second patient who has been described as achieving this sterilizing cure without help from stem cell transplantation or other treatment.
- The other patient who has been described as achieving this was a 67-year-old woman named Loreen Willenberg.
- The international team of scientists reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine that the patient, originally from the city of Esperanza, Argentina, showed no evidence of intact HIV in large numbers of her cells, suggesting that she may have naturally achieved what they describe as a «sterilizing cure» of HIV infection.
The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is one of the world’s most serious public health challenges.
According to UNAIDS :
Number of People with HIV—There were approximately 37.6 million people across the globe with HIV in 2020. Of these, 35.9 million were adults and 1.7 million were children (<15 years old).
HIV Testing—Approximately 84% of people with HIV globally knew their HIV status in 2020.
The remaining 16% (about 6.0 million people) still need access to HIV testing services.
HIV testing is an essential gateway to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.
HIV Treatment Access—As of the end of 2020, 27.4 million people with HIV (73%) were accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART) globally.
That means 10.2 million people are still waiting.
HIV treatment access is key to the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat.
People with HIV who are aware of their status, take ART daily as prescribed, and get and keep an undetectable viral load can live long, healthy lives and have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners.
UNAIDS’s 90-90-90 goals set as targets that by 2020, 90% of all people with HIV will know their HIV status, 90% of all people who know their status will be on ART, and 90% of all people receiving ART will have viral suppression.
Tracking progress toward those goals, UNAIDS reports that in 2020, of all people with HIV worldwide:
- 84% knew their HIV status
- 73% were accessing ART
- 66% were virally suppressed
AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by 61% since the peak in 2004.
In 2020, around 690,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses worldwide, compared to 1.2 million in 2010.
The vast majority of people with HIV are in low- and middle-income countries.
In 2020, there were 20.6 million people with HIV (55%) in eastern and southern Africa, 4.7 million (13%) in western and central Africa, 5.7 million (15%) in Asia and the Pacific, and 2.2 million (6%) in Western and Central Europe and North America.
Sources: CNN, UNAIDS, HIV.gov, 16/11/2021
Last Updated on 16.11.2021 by iskova