Paris: It’s rare for a person with HIV to lose the virus and be considered cured, but a European man could potentially be the sixth patient to recover from the disease.
Known as the ‘Geneva patient’, the disease was diagnosed in 1990. He had been taking antiretroviral drugs (drugs that stop HIV from multiplying) since 2005 and had a stem cell transplant two years ago to treat a rare type of blood cancer.
The Swiss man, aged over 50, is one of six people who are considered definitely or possibly cured of HIV. While others also underwent stem cell transplant for treatment of blood cancer.
Five people reportedly received stem cell transplants from people with a rare genetic condition that makes HIV resistant.
The International AIDS Society (IAS) while talking to the media said that this case is great news and can help in many ways in the efforts to discover a cure.
More details about the case will be presented at the IAS Conference on HIV Science scheduled in Brisbane, Australia from July 23 to 26.
According to media reports, the patient was treated with radiation, chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant after being diagnosed with blood cancer in 2018.
This research was conducted by a team of researchers under the guidance of Ezier Cez Sirion, head of the Paris-based Institute Pasteur.
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