The researchers were surprised by their findings
The discovery of a large group of people whose bodies
naturally control HIV without taking medication is leading to hopes of an
eventual cure, scientists say.
The study found as many as 4% of HIV carriers in the
Democratic Republic of Congo were able to suppress the virus.
Typically less than 1% of people with HIV are able to do so.
This could serve as springboard for further research to
develop a vaccine or new treatments to tackle the virus that causes Aids,
researchers say.
"When we first started to see the data coming in from
the study we were surprised, but we were also elated," Mary Rodgers, the
study's lead scientist, told the BBC.
"This could mean that this is something that we can
actually cure," she said.
The findings, published in eBioMedicine which is part of The Lancet family of medical journals, looked at samples taken FROM people living with HIV between 1987 and 2019.
The team included scientists from pharmaceutical company
Abbott, Université Protestante au Congo, Johns Hopkins, the US National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and University of Missouri -
Kansas City.
Mary Rodgers: "This group of people gives us hope"
Dr Rodgers, head of Abbott's global viral surveillance
programme, said the group in DR Congo was the biggest detected in one country -
between 2.7% and 4.3% . Another 1% of people living with HIV in Cameroon were
also identified as controlling the virus well without medication.
"This has never really been seen before, typically we
would find less than 1% of all people with HIV who are able to suppress the
virus naturally."
Currently, most people living with HIV have to take
anti-retroviral medicines daily to suppress the virus and reduce their viral
load.
It is not yet known how the so-called "elite
controllers" discovered in DR Congo are able to suppress their HIV
infection.
But Dr Rodgers said understanding how the group was able to
maintain low or undetectable viral loads would be crucial to controlling the
virus.
However, she stressed the need for more research, while
pointing to previous studies that showed this group of people potentially lose
their protection as the disease progresses.
HIV came to global attention in the 1980s. It has infected
76 million people since then and 38 million people are living with the virus,
Abbott says.
It is believed to have originated in what
is now DR Congo a century ago, and today HIV disproportionately
affects women in sub-Saharan Africa.
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