The second patient in history appears to have been cured of HIV, according to scientists in the United Kingdom.
The anonymous patient, being referred to by scientists as the “London patient,” has experienced sustained remission for 18 months after he discontinued use of antiretroviral drugs. After months of testing, his HIV viral load is undetectable.
President Trump praised the accomplishment in a tweet Tuesday morning: “’HIV Is Cured In 2nd Patient, Doctors Report.’ @nytimes Such great news for so many. Tremendous progress being made!,” he tweeted.
“HIV Is Cured In 2nd Patient, Doctors Report.” @nytimes Such great news for so many. Tremendous progress being made!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2019
The first purported cure for the virus came in 2007, when a patient identified as Timothy Ray Brown went into sustained remission. Brown has been free of the virus since then.
Both the London patient and Brown were given bone marrow transplants containing stem cells from donors who carried a genetic mutation that makes them resistant to HIV. Doctors were not intending to cure the London patient of HIV during the bone marrow transplants but were rather intending to treat him for cancer.
The London patient corresponded with the New York Times via email following the apparent cure. He characterized the experience of being healed as both “surreal” and “overwhelming.”
“I feel a sense of responsibility to help the doctors understand how it happened so they can develop the science,” he said. “… I never thought that there would be a cure during my lifetime.”
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS — an autoimmune disease that has killed millions across the globe since its emergence in the early 1980s. More than 30 million people were living with HIV in 2017.
