00:00 It's a medical breakthrough that could provide hope for millions of people living with HIV.
00:06 An anonymous patient living in the Swiss city of Geneva has become only the sixth person
00:11 ever to be declared free of the virus.
00:14 The man who became infected in 1990 had received a bone marrow transplant in 2018 to treat
00:20 leukaemia.
00:22 Unlike the previous four cases, the marrow did not contain a mutation of the CCR5 gene,
00:28 which is known to block HIV from entering the body's cells, meaning new medical terrain
00:34 had been broken.
00:37 Analyses carried out since the patient stopped treatment have not detected any viral particles,
00:42 any active viral reservoir, nor any increase in immune responses.
00:48 These analyses enable us to consider this patient's case as one of sustained remission
00:52 of HIV infection for 20 months.
00:57 Researchers say there remains a chance the man's infection could return, but the outlook
01:01 is good.
01:02 Though the so-called Geneva patient chose not to be named, he was keen for his case
01:08 to be made public.
01:11 As the patient from Geneva said in the press release, this is truly a miracle, one that
01:16 he dedicates to the future and to all those living on this planet with HIV.
01:22 But there remains a long way to go before most people with HIV can benefit.
01:27 All six of the people declared free of the virus to date have been residents of wealthy
01:32 Western countries.
01:33 The vast majority of the 39 million people affected worldwide live in poorer nations,
01:40 where access to adequate health care can be a great deal more complicated.
01:44 Yeah, dude.
