Medical miracle: HIV-positive woman gets ‘naturally’ cured without treatment

An anonymous woman from the South American country of Argentina has become only the second individual in history to ‘clear’ her HIV infection without treatment. Named the 'Esperanza patient', the woman showed no detectable traces of an HIV infection. She had not received a stem cell transplantation treatment to cure the infection.

The woman hailing from Esperanza in Argentina was diagnosed with HIV-1 back in 2013. She underwent follow-up checks for the next eight years along with 10 commercial viral load tests. Her body does not show any detectable signs of an active viral infection or evidence of disease associated with HIV-1, the virus that can cause AIDS.

Argentine HIV researcher Natalia Laufer from Universidad de Buenos Aires told local media, “This is a significant leap forward in the world of HIV cure research. Upon diagnosis, her tests surprised us all. Her HIV antibody test showed she was HIV positive, but the level of virus was undetectable and continued so, over time. This is highly unusual."

Researchers were able to identify one other case similar to the 'Esperanza patient' where a patient in California, US, has displayed drug-free HIV remission for decades.

The patient comes under an extremely rare variety of human bodies known as 'elite controllers' that can find natural ways to tame the virus without the help of transplant or drug treatments.

Source : DNA India