The first Canadian effectively cured of HIV
4/28/202624 min
Only 10 HIV patients worldwide are known to have achieved the milestone of being in prolonged remission. Soon, a Toronto patient will be part of the historic achievement, becoming the 11th patient and first Canadian to be effectively cured of HIV. Doctors at the Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research revealed that a patient underwent a stem cell transplant that is creating a natural immunity against the virus.
Jennifer Yang, health science reporter for The Globe, delves into the complicated procedure and advancements in HIV treatments, speaks to the doctors leading the medical research and explains why there’s still a long road ahead for breakthroughs.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsCheryl Sutherland· Host0:00
[chime] There are just ten people around the world who are considered to be cured of HIV. [music] But this past weekend, doctors at an HIV research conference revealed that an eleventh person will likely be added to that list, a Canadian man known only as the Toronto Patient. More than forty million people are living with HIV around the world, and in Canada, it's over sixty-five thousand. Today, Jennifer Yang, The Globe's health science reporter, is here to talk about how this patient's HIV was treated and what a breakthrough like this means for the quest to find a wider cure for the disease. I'm Cheryl Sutherland, and this is The Decibel from The Globe and Mail. Hi, Jennifer. Thanks so much for joining me today.
Jennifer Yang· Guest0:52
Hey, thanks for having me.
Cheryl Sutherland· Host0:54
So Jennifer, the idea of this Canadian patient being possibly cured of HIV is gonna sound really exciting to a lot of people. Can you help us understand how big of a deal is this?
Jennifer Yang· Guest1:06
You know, it's both, like, a really big deal, but at the same time not going to significantly change anything anytime soon for the world's HIV patients. So let me unpack that a little bit. Um, I mean, obviously it's a big deal because this person is the first Canadian with HIV to ever be on track to be cured of his virus. Like, there's