British scientists have revealed that a 44 year-old social worker from London may have been cured of HIV.

 

The scientists explained that the virus is currently undetectable in the man’s blood, and if it remains that way it will be the first complete cure. 

 

But -- and there is always a but -- the researchers said it is still too early to confirm if their efforts have resulted in an actual cure or not. 

 

“This is one of the first serious attempts at a full cure for HIV,” Mark Samuels, managing director of the National Institute for Health Research Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure, said. “We are exploring the real possibility of curing HIV. This is a huge challenge and it’s still early days but the progress has been remarkable.”

 

The researchers are hoping to create a cure that will hunt down and completely destroy every part of the HIV virus.

 

“It would be great if a cure has happened. My last blood test was a couple of weeks ago and there is no detectable virus," said the unnamed patient who was cured. “I took part in the trial to help others as well as myself. It would be a massive achievement if, after all these years, something is found to cure people of this disease. The fact that I was a part of that would be incredible.”

 

But again, this is only a single case early on in trials.

 

“HIV treatment currently focuses on reducing the amount of HIV in the blood to ‘undetectable’ levels, meaning the patient stays well and the virus cannot be transmitted,” explained Ian Green, chief executive of HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust. “However, there is still no cure for HIV, and we welcome this ambitious study which looks to eradicate the virus completely from the bodies of people living with HIV, instead of suppressing it. It’s very early days, but we hope the results will help future studies on the way to finding a cure in years to come."

 

HIV has proven particularly difficult to treat, as it is always mutating. Hopefully a cure is around the corner. Until then, it is still important to be smart and safe when being sexually active.

 

HIV cure? British man’s virus now ‘undetectable’ [Global News]

 

HIV cure close after disease 'vanishes' from blood of British man [Telegraph]

 

Scientists testing HIV cure report 'remarkable' progress after patient breakthrough [The Guardian]