The man had been HIV-infected for over ten years when he was struck by a bone marrow disease and underwent a transplantation. Now, he has been virus-free for almost two and a half years – and is considered cured.
He has been virus-free for several years, but virus-free without treatment for two and a half years, which is actually not supposed to be possible, says chief physician Anders Myhre to Norwegian VG.
According to Marius Trøseid, there are only a handful of people in the entire world who have been safely cured of HIV. The case therefore represents a major breakthrough in HIV research.
During the transplantation, blood stem cells from the patient's brother were used. It turned out that the brother also had an HIV-resistant mutation. Extremely fortunate, notes Myhre.
The probability of this is very low. It's like finding a needle in a haystack.
The patient himself feels like a lottery winner, according to the doctors.
He is completely cured of the bone marrow disease and probably also of HIV. He appears very healthy and strong, says Trøseid.
