A YOUNG British man thought to be the first person to have shaken off HIV, the virus that causes Aids, is to undergo further clinical tests in the hope of a breakthrough in treating the condition.
Andrew Stimpson, 25, said yesterday that he was willing to do all he could to help to tackle the condition, after it emerged that his body had apparently rid itself of the human immunodeficiency virus.
Mr Stimpson, a Scot living in London, was found to be HIV-positive in August 2002, but 14 months later a blood test suggested that he no longer carried the virus. A further three tests confirmed the finding.
Doctors believe that this first confirmed case of �spontaneous clearance??? of HIV could offer important insights into the behaviour of the virus, and possible means of defeating it.
Much more wary of todays’ front page than Blairs’ foreign policy.
Thought by whom to be the first? Not the medical establishment.
Even his own doctors take care not to claim that he has been cured - because they stress that he may never have had HIV (he only tested positive to HIV antibodies not the virus itself).
This is just a case of the Murdoch press trying to big up a Murdoch (Sun and News of the World ‘exclusive) and shouldn’t be seen as hope for anyone other than the rather sad man who after two years of trying to cash in on being free from HIV has suddenly found a way to do it.
That’s a very pessimistic view but worthy nonetheless. There does seem to be a lot of hype about this ‘miracle’ in the media when we should be waiting for more confirmation.
If his body cured itself of HIV, I hope doctors can figure out how it was done as he has no idea. I am wondering if maybe his HIV testing results simply got mixed up at the lab? It’s happened before…
I hope he will agree to further tests to figure out how this happened, my son’s future (and millions of others, possibly a billion over the next 100 years) may just depend on a cure for HIV/AIDS as his mother and I have AIDS
This could also be a hoax to somehow disprove that HIV/AIDS exists or is a health threat (there are many AIDS dissidents out there).
I tend to trust the Times and the BBC to not show me speculation, but I also think more needs to be known before we all get excited.
After all the hype and media interest in this young man who has allegedly been cured of HIV, 10 months on what’s happened?????