When Will There Be A Cure For Aids?

Welcome back my fellow learners, today we are going to find out more regarding the lethal disease aids.

Researchers are still hopeful they're going in the right direction to locating a cure for HIV and AIDS. Two babies that were treated when they were infants for HIV lived for several years without developing any symptoms of the virus. However, one is now positive for HIV again. However, the treatments held back the virus for a short while, and this can lead to changes with treatments for individuals only recently infected.

Where HIV is found

Usually, babies who could be HIV positive receive medication to stop the virus. Only when the two tests show positive are they then changed to drugs which treat HIV. By this time, an infant could be over 2 weeks old.

However, at times doctors use a different approach. An infant from Mississippi was given treatment just 30 hours after it was born, and another baby was treated when it was 4 hours old.

The second baby is still HIV-negative after nearly a year. The Mississippi one tested was HIV free for over 2 years, however, is now HIV positive once again. The baby's mother stopped giving the baby medication when it was 18 months old. Scientists thought that giving strong medications after birth would remove the HIV gene within the baby's body, or stop it from forming.

Having HIV is the same as AIDS

False

HIV is a virus which destroys a body's CD4 immune cells, these help fight against disease. With the proper medications, a person can have HIV for years without it progressing to full blown AIDS.

True

It is not possible to catch or spread HIV simply by hugging someone, sharing a towel, or the same glass. It's extremely rare to contract HIV from a blood transfusion, the U.S. blood supply carefully tests against this. But, you can spread the disease by having sex unprotected, sharing needles, or having a tattoo using unsterilised equipment.