Published: 10th April, 2015 in: Sexually Transmitted Diseases
A breakthrough in the fight against the deadly HIV virus could soon be here as the first human trial has gone underway.
The trial which uses immune proteins which have been cloned from an individual, who incredibly, has a natural control over the virus, are injected into a patient, which could overpower the HIV that is present in their blood.
The body’s natural defence against any type of infection is by producing antibodies but with HIV they are not strong enough to kill the virus off.
An international research team who have gotten their hands on copies of highly powerful antibody called 3BNC117, which is capable of fighting many strains of the HIV virus. Patients who were given the highest concentration were able to fight the virus for some time, dampening the replication of HIV in their blood. The level of protection from patient to patient varied but in some, the protection lasted for more than four weeks.
Facts about HIV/AIDS:
In the UK around 100,000 have contracted the disease with a quarter of these people unaware that they have the virus. – source: worldaidsday.org
There is approximately 35 Million people worldwide that are currently living with HIV/AIDS with around 19 million of them that are completely unaware they have it. – source: aids.gov
Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected part of the world, with over 24 million people living with HIV. This equates to Seventy-one percent of all people who are living with HIV in the world. – source: aids.gov