There is considerable excitement in the world of medicine after scientists reported that a woman living with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and administered an experimental treatment is likely ‘cured’.

What is HIV/AIDS?

• HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks cells that help the body fight infection, making a person more vulnerable to other infections and diseases.
• First identified in 1981, HIV is the cause of one of humanity’s deadliest and most persistent epidemics.
• It is spread by contact with certain bodily fluids of a person with HIV, most commonly during unprotected sex, or through sharing injection drug equipment.
• If left untreated, HIV can lead to the disease AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
• The human body can’t get rid of HIV and no effective HIV cure exists.

Treating HIV

• However, by taking HIV medicine (called antiretroviral therapy or ART), people with HIV can live long and healthy lives and prevent transmitting HIV to their sexual partners.
• In addition, there are effective methods to prevent getting HIV through sex or drug use, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).

What is the new breakthrough?

• US researchers have described the case of a 60-year-old African American woman who was diagnosed with an HIV infection in 2013.
• She was started on the standard HIV treatment regimen of anti-retroviral treatment (ART) therapy consisting of tenofovir, emtricitabine, and raltegravir.
• She was given cord blood, or embryonic stem cells, from a donor with a rare mutation that naturally blocks the HIV virus from infecting cells.
• She was also given blood stem cells, or adult stem cells, from a relative.

What actually worked?

• The adult stem cells boosted the patient’s immunity and possibly helped the cord blood cells fully integrate with the lady’s immune system.
• Now she has no sign of HIV in her blood and also has no detectable antibodies to the virus.
• Embryonic stem cells are potentially able to grow into any kind of cell and hence their appeal as therapy, though there is no explanation for why this mode of treatment appeared to be more effective.

Is this treatment the long-sought cure for AIDS?

• Not at all. While this approach is certainly a welcome addition to the arsenal of treatments, stem cell therapy is a cumbersome exercise and barely accessible to most HIV patients in the world.
• Moreover, this requires stem cells from that rare group of individuals with the beneficial mutation.
• Anti-retroviral therapy, through the years, has now ensured that HIV/AIDS isn’t always a death sentence and many with access to proper treatment have lifespans comparable to those without HIV.
• A vaccine for HIV or a drug that eliminates the virus is still elusive and would be the long-sought ‘cure’ for HIV/AIDS.

What is the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in India?

• As per the India HIV Estimation 2019 report, the estimated adult (15 to 49 years) HIV prevalence trend has been declining in India since the epidemic’s peak in the year 2000 and has been stabilizing in recent years.
• In 2019, HIV prevalence among adult males (15–49 years) was estimated at 0.24% and among adult females at 0.20% of the population.
• There were 23.48 lakh Indians living with HIV in 2019.
• Maharashtra had the maximum at 3.96 lakh followed by Andhra Pradesh (3.14 lakh) and Karnataka.
• ART is freely available to all those who require and there are deputed centers across the country where they can be availed from.

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