Man cures himself of HIV

[Melissa89]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/nov/14/health.aids

Any idea how this happened!? He did have a positive partner, he was also confirmed positive (antibody and viral load) then suddenly seroreverted 18 months later?

If that’s true it’s a miracle. He’s still alive and well to this day, I believe. And negative.

(I’m more concerned that his story might lead people think that hiv can be cured with multivitamins )

 

[ScottTriGuy]

The article is from 2005 and his credibility is seriously questioned. It is evident he is media seeking as he entered into contract agreement with tabloid papers and refused to get re-tested.

He was creating his own fake news.

So, no miracle.

 

[Melissa89]

@ScottTriGuy i was just wondering if there was any validity, or what went wrong in the first place to give him a positive diagnosis for 18 months.. that’s a huge thing to be told and then for the doctors to say they aren’t sure what happened is even more mind boggling.

I did note that his story may spread the idea that hiv can be cured with supplements. I had a false positive hiv test 3 years ago after my hep b vaccine (triggered an immune response) and that was very swiftly confirmed as a false positive so I’m genuinely intrigued as to how the viral load and antibody can both be positive?

 

[gbells]

I had a false positive hiv test 3 years ago after my hep b vaccine (triggered an immune response) and that was very swiftly confirmed as a false positive so I’m genuinely intrigued as to how the viral load and antibody can both be positive?

False positive/negative test was the first thing I thought.

 

[ScottTriGuy]

I had a false positive hiv test 3 years ago after my hep b vaccine (triggered an immune response) and that was very swiftly confirmed as a false positive so I’m genuinely intrigued as to how the viral load and antibody can both be positive?

That must have been frightening @Melissa89 - my apologies for my previous curt reply, I've been living with HIV since 1998 so am easily triggered by perceived misinformation about HIV.

 

[Melissa89]

That must have been frightening @Melissa89 - my apologies for my previous curt reply, I've been living with HIV since 1998 so am easily triggered by perceived misinformation about HIV.

Oh no! I completely understand 😊 My good friend has had HIV since he was 18 & he always gets annoyed with me when I make him megadose vitamin C or buy him supplements to boost his immune system. He says the medication he’s on does the job well enough 😂 sometimes I just love the idea that a miracle CAN happen and save everyone from dealing with HIV.

 

[IThinkImTurningJapanese]

sometimes I just love the idea that a miracle CAN happen and save everyone from dealing with HIV.

It may be possible with current treatments, if they can be adequately administered.

Ending HIV Will Require Optimizing Treatment and Prevention Tools, Say NIH Experts

Optimal implementation of existing HIV prevention and treatment tools and continued development of new interventions are essential to ending the HIV pandemic, National Institutes of Health experts write in a commentary in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Today, many highly effective HIV treatment and prevention interventions are available. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) not only improves the health and prolongs the lives of people with HIV but also plays an important role in HIV prevention. People living with HIV whose virus is durably suppressed to undetectable levels by ART cannot sexually transmit HIV to others, a concept known as Undetectable=Untransmittable, or U=U. Antiretroviral drugs taken by people without HIV as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) are highly effective at preventing acquisition of HIV.

Theoretically, the widespread provision of ART and PrEP could end the HIV pandemic. However, a gap exists between theory and reality, write Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and colleagues.

 

[JES]

This article is 14 years old. It looks like he indeed went from HIV seropositive to HIV seronegative based on some further reading. A Wikipedia article lists some possible explanations.

• The temporary presence of malformed HIV particles, which were unable to successfully establish an ongoing infection.
• Developing a sort of immunization through repeated exposure to HIV or its component proteins, which would produce a natural antibody response against HIV.
• Spontaneous seroreversion (when the body stops producing antibodies against a protein) despite the ongoing presence of the virus; this is a type of immune tolerance.

It seems to me that supplements are the least likely candidate for why he got "cured".