A mixed-race adult female has become the third person ever to be cured of HIV.
HIV – HOW WOMAN GOT CURED
This happened through the use of a new transplant method involving umbilical cord blood.
According to scientists, this discovery opens up the possibility of curing more people of diverse racial backgrounds than was previously possible.
This lady is also reported to have had leukemia. She was on cord blood cancer treatment from a partially matched donor. On top of this, she was given blood from a close relative to give her body temporary immune defenses during the transplant.
Dr. Steven Deeks, an AIDS expert at the University of California, San Francisco said, “The fact that she’s mixed race, and that she’s a woman, that is really important scientifically and really important in terms of the community impact,”
This means that this is a huge step towards the discovery of an everlasting cure for the stubborn virus.
However, he personally didn’t participate in the transplant process.
WHAT IS HIV?
This is a type of lentivirus, which means it attacks the immune system. In a similar way, the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) attacks the immune systems of monkeys and apes.
The research found that HIV is similar to SIV and there are many similarities between the two viruses. HIV-1 is closely identical to a strain of SIV found in chimpanzees, and HIV-2 is closely related to a strain of SIV found in sooty mangabeys.
WHERE DID IT ORIGINATE FROM?
It is widely believed that HUMAN IMMUNE VIRUS originated in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo around 1920 when HIV crossed species from chimpanzees to humans. Up until the 1980s, we do not know how many people got the virus or developed AIDS. HIV was not popular and transmission was not accompanied by noticeable signs or symptoms.
Apparently, sporadic cases of AIDS happened prior to 1970. However, available data suggests that the current epidemic started in the mid-to-late 1970s. By 1980, AIDS may have already spread to five continents. These include North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Australia. In this period, between 100,000 and 300,000 people could have already been infected
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