A man from Geneva becomes sixth person to be declared ‘cured’ of HIV

A 50-year-old man from Geneva, Switzerland, has been reported as cured of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

The Swiss man achieved long-term HIV remission after undergoing a risky therapy in 2018. HIV remission refers to having an undetectable viral load of the virus after stopping its treatment.

Prior to this case, there have been five other similar cases declared ‘cured’ of HIV, but the patient from Geneva’s case stands out as the most unique.

What sets this case apart is that the patient from Geneva received stem cells from a donor who does not possess a rare genetic mutation known as CCR5.

This gene is essential in blocking the entry of HIV into a person’s immune system, making the cells naturally resistant to the virus. He attained HIV remission after undergoing a stem cell transplant to treat blood cancer or leukemia.

This makes him the sixth person to be pronounced HIV-free. He has been dubbed “Patient Geneva” by scientists, referencing the city where he received treatment during his HIV journey.

After the treatment, the man from Geneva was declared ‘cured’ of HIV, as the virus was no longer detectable in his body after stopping antiretroviral therapy (ART), which is the medication used to suppress the virus in the bloodstream.

He continued the antiretroviral therapy until November 2021 when his doctors instructed him to stop after undergoing the bone marrow or stem cell transplant. “What happened to me is extraordinary, miraculous,” he said in a statement quoted by Euronews.

Although the patient from Geneva has discontinued antiretroviral treatment, researchers are not entirely certain that the HIV virus will not return. Two cases in Boston, where stem cells lacking the CCR5 gene were used for transplantation, saw the virus resurface several months after stopping the antiretroviral medication.

Asier Saez-Cirion, a scientist at the Pasteur Institute in France who presented the case in Brisbane, stated, “If there are still no signs of the virus after 12 months, the likelihood of it remaining undetectable in the future will significantly increase.”

The mystery of the patient from Geneva’s cure lies in the possibility that the transplant eradicated all infected cells without requiring the famous genetic mutation or the immunosuppressive treatment usually needed after transplantation.

Timothy Ray Brown, also known as “Patient Berlin,” was the first person to be cured of HIV.

Timothy Ray Brown, also known as “Patient Berlin,” was the first person to be cured of HIV.

He was diagnosed with HIV while studying in Berlin in 1995 and later diagnosed with leukemia a decade later.

Doctors at the Free University of Berlin used stem cell transplantation from a donor with a rare genetic mutation that gave him natural immunity to HIV. In 2008, Timothy Ray Brown was declared free from both diseases. However, his leukemia recurred, and in September 2020, the International AIDS Society (IAS) announced that Timothy had passed away from leukemia.

Adam Castillejo, the second person to be declared free of the HIV virus.

Adam Castillejo, a 40-year-old man from London, England, became the second person to be declared free of the HIV virus, 30 months after discontinuing antiretroviral therapy. The success of stem cell therapy was documented in a medical journal, The Lancet.

The third person to be cured of HIV was a female leukemia patient from the US who received a stem cell transplant from umbilical cord blood. She has remained HIV-free for 14 months without antiretroviral treatment.

The fourth person in the world to be free from human immunodeficiency virus is a man in his 66s who has lived with HIV since the 1980s. He underwent a bone marrow transplant to treat leukemia from a donor who was naturally resistant to the virus. The 66-year-old man, who prefers to remain anonymous, has now stopped taking HIV medication.

Paul Edmonds, the fifth patient to be declared cured of HIV.

Paul Edmonds, a 67-year-old man from California, Los Angeles, became the fifth person to achieve full remission or be declared cured of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

He was named “Patient City of Hopes” after the hospital where he received treatment. Edmonds was diagnosed with HIV-AIDS in 1988 when he was 33 years old. At that time, he received the first antiretroviral therapy that boosted his immune system despite being infected with HIV-AIDS, rendering the virus undetectable and non-transmissible.

In 2012, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) therapy was introduced into the global market. Users of this daily pill could reduce the risk of HIV transmission through sexual intercourse by up to 99 percent. The combination of both medications allowed Edmonds to survive even though the virus remained in his body.

In 2018, Edmonds was diagnosed with leukemia. While undergoing chemotherapy, doctors discovered that he had the chance to be cured of both dangerous diseases through a rare stem cell transplant.

After receiving treatment, Edmonds stopped taking all the drugs he had been on for half of his life in 2021. He now lives in long-term remission from both HIV and leukemia.

According to the New York Post report, the recovery of the patient from Geneva from HIV differs from the five other individuals who experienced similar cases. The unnamed patient did not have the genetic mutation that makes them immune to HIV, unlike the five other people who achieved HIV remission through stem cell transplantation.

One of the researchers following the treatment progress of the patient from Geneva, Asier Sáez-Cirión, stated, “The possibility of the return of the virus (HIV) is indeed a concern. The virus may persist in rare infected blood cells or anatomical sites that we have not yet analyzed.”

The patient from Geneva was first diagnosed with HIV in 1990. He began antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2005. Subsequently, he received a stem cell transplant after being diagnosed with a rare blood cancer, an extramedullary myeloid tumor, in 2018.

After undergoing treatment, the virus in the patient’s body did not return, and their ART was stopped in November 2021.

Currently, the patient from Geneva is under the observation of Sáez-Cirión, who is the Head of the Virus Reservoir and Immune Control Unit at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France. However, the recovery of the patient from Geneva still remains a mystery, as experts cannot precisely determine why the treatment results were successful.

Despite the patient from Geneva having discontinued antiretroviral treatment until now, researchers are not entirely certain that the HIV virus will not return. This is due to two cases in Boston, where stem cells without the CCR5 gene were used, resulting in the virus reemerging several months after stopping the antiretroviral medication.

Asier Saez-Cirion, a scientist at the Pasteur Institute in France who presented the case in Brisbane, said, “If there are still no signs of the virus after 12 months, the likelihood of it remaining undetectable in the future will significantly increase.”

He concluded that the patient from Geneva remains ‘HIV-free’ because the transplant may have removed all infected cells without requiring the famous genetic mutation or the immunosuppressive treatment that is usually needed after transplantation.

Quoted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US, HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system. If HIV is left untreated, it can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Until now, there is no effective cure for the virus, and once a person is infected with HIV, they will carry it for a lifetime. However, with proper medical care, HIV can be controlled, and individuals with HIV who receive effective HIV treatment can live long, healthy lives while protecting their partners.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), many people may not experience HIV symptoms in the first few months after infection and may not be aware of being infected. Common early symptoms of HIV are similar to the flu, including fever, headache, rash, and sore throat. During these early months, the virus is highly contagious.

As the disease progresses, symptoms may become more extensive and apparent. These can include swollen lymph nodes, weight loss, fever, diarrhea, and cough. HIV weakens the body’s ability to fight other infections, and without treatment, individuals become more susceptible to severe illnesses such as tuberculosis, cryptococcal meningitis, bacterial infections, and some types of cancer, including lymphoma and Kaposi’s sarcoma.

HIV is diagnosed using rapid tests that provide same-day results and can be done at home. However, laboratory tests are needed to confirm the infection.

The modes of HIV transmission include risky sexual behavior, mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding (although cases of transmission have significantly decreased due to effective HIV treatment). Sharing needles during drug use is also a common route of transmission, and engaging in oral sex, particularly with ejaculation in the mouth when there are sores, bleeding gums, or genital wounds, has been associated with an increased risk of HIV transmission.

To prevent HIV/AIDS transmission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends four key measures: engaging in safe sexual practices by avoiding multiple partners and using condoms, avoiding illicit drugs, discussing HIV/AIDS diagnosis and prevention with healthcare providers, and being open and honest with partners about HIV status to encourage them to get tested early and take appropriate actions to manage the condition and prevent transmission.