Question
When will there be a cure for HIV?
18 September 2014. Related: All topics, Cure, Living with HIV long-term.
Hello,
Thanks for your answer to my previous question.
I have managed to convince my girlfriend who tested HIV positive not to commit suicide. I told her to take medications for the next few years.
I told her that i was convinced that there would be a cure in the next few years. Are my hopes justified?
In your opinion how long do you think it would take to find a cure if any?
What websites give such information?
Answer
Learning that you have HIV can be tough. But while coming to term with this it should help to know that current treatment means that most people can lead long, normal, lives.
We can do the same things we did in life before we had HIV. This includes sport, work, getting married and having children. Some people even say that finding out they were HIV positive meant that they valued life more than they did before.
Some people make changes in their lives for the better, in ways they might not have done otherwise. Life may be slightly more complicated with HIV, but access to good treatment allows all these things.
When someone is first diagnosed they may not have information, or they may not believe it. This is why access to accurate information is so important.
As for a cure, I’m sure it will come. In the last five years there has been a dramatic increase in this research. Scientists are making great progress in working on all the sections of this very complex problem.
Science has a way of solving most problems. If not now, then it will happen in the future. But putting a timeline on when is tough. Many of the leading scientists are cautious on this. Many suggest at least ten years is reasonable but an unexpected breakthough could change this.
One part of the challenge for HIV is that the virus becomes part of the genetic material (DNA) of immune cells. Some of these cells, once infected, rest or sleep for many years. Currently HIV drugs only work in cells that are active or awake, but research is looking at ways of targeting those sleeping cells.
This article describes new approaches to cure research:
https://i-base.info/guides/art-in-pictures/the-hiv-cure-puzzle
Even if a cure is a long way off it is not something that I worry about. It will come, and treatment will keep me healthy and alive until then. Following research is a good was to keep informed – both for newer treatments and for research into vaccines and ‘a cure’.
Most HIV organisations have newsletters that report on research from medical conferences. If you email me with which country you live in I can suggest something that may be useful.
Note: The answer was updated in September 2014 from a question asked in August 2007.
Can people treated while having hiv or aids and be cured in a few years? What should you if you are hiv positive and can you be treated if you have aids and live?
hi I’m 20 years old. . ever since I was Young I was not a normal child
.. I used to Get sick Often. . but then when I was 17 years old I get Tested and I tasted positive. . what’s bother me is that by that time I was a virgin and both my parents are negative
. how Possible is that?
Hi Okuhle, I am sorry to hear you were sick through your early life and only just found out you are positive. At least now you can get the treatment you need and your health should get better. Many people never find out how they became HIV positive. Although this can be frustrating, it is better that you look forward to take control of your life as it is now.
I can’t say what happened in your case. It might be that you caught HIV from a medical procedure in very early life. Or that your parents HIV tests were not accurate, though that seems unlikely or easy to check now.
How are you doing now? Are you on treatment?
We no longer answer questions about transmission and testing. The risk of transmission without a condom is dramatically reduced to close to zero when viral load is undetectable. See this guide.
Most questions about transmission and testing have been answered here:
http://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
Compliment the season to whom it may concern, Please my question is, about 9 months ago i went for Test and the Test said that i am Positive but still in the same Test it was written there that it is not yet well verified, i was now directed to an NGO where they did another Test again, they just collected my Blood and took it out after about 30 minutes they brought the Result and told me that i was Positive and they issued me with ART drugs since then i have been taking them, but the most funniest thing till today i did not even see the Laboratory where the Test was done, then as i began to take the Medicines i was directed to a Military Hospital where i was ask to go and do my CD4 Test, when the Result came out it said my CD4 is 425, ( 1 ) Please i want to know with CD4 425 does really mean i am infected?. ( 2 ) Is it possible that after taking Medicines for about 9 months now my Viral Load should be Undetected.? ( 3 ) If my viral load is Undetected can i still infect a woman if i should have unprotected sex with her.? ( 4 ) Is it possible that if i should go for another HIV Test and maybe the Test comes out Negative because there have been so many mistakes like that where some people where Tested Positive after going to other places for Test it came out Negative.? ( 5 ) When i told the NGO Doctor that i was not certified with my HIV Test result and i need to still do another Test, the Doctor there started like kind of trying to Harass me and telling me that the Test has already been Confirm that i am HIV positive and there is no way another Test can be done again in their NGO Office.?
I’m sorry, it’s sad to hear about your father.
It’s important that you’ve started taking ART. And yes, people can live for a long time before they are diagnosed HIV positive.
You can talk to your doctor and find out about your CD4 count. This will help to assess the strength of your immune system, and that can give some idea of how long you’ve had HIV. But it’s a good idea to focus on your health and your medication, and not worry too much about how long you’ve been HIV positive.
I am 23 old Kenyan, I tested HIV+ve in 2015, I started medication. Am now taking ART…. what bothers me is that my father died in 2002, my mum has been under medication since that, its now over 16 years. Is there a possibility that I was born positive. I have never gone for test before last year, when I did it came back positive. Can someone live with this immune virus.
It’s probably a good idea to keep taking the Atripla until the confusion is sorted out. Does this mean you’ve had one positive result and 7 negative results? Were the tests done during a very short period of time? And were they the same tests – such as rapid tests or 4th generation tests? What did the doctor say when they gave you the Atripla?
Best wishes, Roy
Very inconclusive diagnosis, 5 tests 4 negative , 3 later tests negative , To scared to stop taking A-Tripla
The answer above from 2014 is still good in 2016. There is lots of reaseach but likely this will take a long time.