Finding a cure for the dreaded Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is an endeavour that has continued to engage the attention of the global scientific community. It is a quest that has proved to be long, laborious and, at the same time, hopeful. Although believed to have long been with humans before it was discovered in 1983, scientists have been unanimous in their verdict that HIV has no cure.
What has always stood as the only exception, however, is the case of Timothy Brown, an HIV patient who in 2008 had to undergo bone marrow transplants after he developed leukaemia. Following the transplants using the marrow from a donor whose DNA mutation was resistant to HIV infection, the man, also known as the Berlin Patient, has remained HIV-free till today. He remains the only man believed to have been cured of HIV.
Failure to find a cure can, however, not be attributed to lack of diligent efforts. If anything, strides made over the past three and a half decades have turned what was originally deemed a definite death sentence into a condition that can now be effectively controlled and managed, such that a patient can live a long and fulfilling life. For those living with HIV/AIDS, things have continued to look up on a daily basis as the world gradually inches closer to discovering an outright cure.
This optimism has been further reinforced by recent claims around the world indicating that the cure or vaccine for HIV could be around the corner. One of them is a possible breakthrough by a research team of some Nigerian academics at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State. According to reports, the team, led by Maduike Ezeibe, a professor of Veterinary Medicine, has already had its findings, claiming a cure, published in the British Journal of Medical Research. The findings were also among papers presented at the World Virology Conference 2016 held on November 30 in San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Also worthy of note are the efforts of another team of British researchers, drawn from Oxford University; University of Cambridge; Imperial College, London; King’s College, London and University College, London. Following six years of research, the team, assembled by the National Institute for Health Research for the purpose of finding an HIV cure, is reportedly full of hope after the treatment administered on its first patient was said to be capable of killing all traces of the virus.
The common ground about the two findings is the ability to penetrate and attack HIV in the sanctuaries and reservoirs where it normally hides, something the antiretroviral therapy has not been able to do. “This is one of the first serious attempts at a full cure for HIV,” the INDEPENDENT newspaper in the United Kingdom quoted Mark Samuels of NIHR as saying.
Almost 35 years after the term AIDS was first used by the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in 1982, HIV/AIDS remains a global health challenge that is making serious demands on resources and time. Besides still claiming lives in millions, most of those affected are the young and active people, still in their prime.
HIV, caused by human immunodeficiency virus, from which the name is derived, is a virus infection that eventually progresses to a terminal stage, known as AIDS, if left untreated. It is a disease in which the virus attacks the immune system of an infected person, by destroying the white blood corpuscles and rendering the person vulnerable to opportunistic diseases. Although HIV or AIDS, on their own, do not kill, the opportunistic diseases do.
Over the years, HIV/AIDS has claimed an estimated 35 million lives, according to 2015 figures from the World Health Organisation’s Global Health Observatory data. It is estimated that over 70 million people have been infected all over the world, out of which 36.7 million, the size of the entire population of Canada, or Australia and Cuba put together, are still living with the virus. The numbers are just staggering. Not surprisingly, with a weak medical infrastructure and fragile economy, sub-Saharan Africa, where 70 per cent of the global infections take place, carries a disproportionate burden of HIV. This is worsened by limited access to treatment.
Figures released by the United States Agency for International Development indicate that HIV/AIDS accounted for 1.2 million infectious disease deaths globally in 2014, trumped only by tuberculosis, which claimed 1.5 million lives. In fact, both TB and HIV have formed a deadly alliance that has worsened cases of morbidity and mortalities. TB has been implicated in 25 per cent of AIDS deaths and is “the most common causes of morbidity in people living with HIV and AIDS,” according to a USAID report. In sub-Saharan Africa, it is estimated that 80 per cent of people with active TB are also HIV-positive.
It is obvious the world cannot continue to ignore these figures. This has made the search for a cure more compelling, with claims to that effect coming up and being disputed from time to time. But right from the time a Nigerian doctor, Jeremiah Abalaka, came up with his unverified claim more than 15 years ago, the progress made has been tremendous, the most significant being the emergence of the ART.
That HIV has been reduced from a lethal disease to a chronic one is due in the main to the efficacy of the ART, a combination of drugs that helps to reduce the viral load in the body, resulting in a drastic reduction of mortality rate. More than 7.8 million lives have since been saved over the last 15 years, according to a report quoting WHO. “The number of infections has also fallen by 35 per cent since the turn of the century,” the report said. A 2011 CDC report has it that early commencement of ART treatment provides 96 per cent protection against transmission among heterosexual partners. As the treatment reduces the viral load in the blood and genital fluids, it also diminishes the chances of transmission.
Significantly, with the two claims of cure and the ongoing large-scale vaccine trials in South Africa, it seems the world is getting closer than ever before to ending the global HIV epidemic. Although the United Nations has set a target of ending the disease by 2030 in its sustainable development programme, things seem to be moving faster. But all claims have to be put through all scientific tests and laid down procedures. There is no doubt, however, that the world is at the threshold of changing the course of medicine the way the discovery of penicillin did 88 years ago.
While still awaiting the discovery of a cure, the practical approach is to stay infection-free by avoiding unprotected sex, multiple sex partners and sharing of sharp objects such as hypodermic syringes, blade and clippers. Access to treatment is of absolute necessity to stay healthy and reduce infection rate.
