A drop of Dawn and grease is gone.
gone. >>> ALL RIGHT.
A STUNNING NEW REPORT THAT WILL
BE UNVEILED THIS AFTERNOON IS
GIVING NEW HOPE IN THE BATTLE
AGAINST ONE OF THE WORLD’S BIG
EFFORT CHALLENGES.
EFFORT CHALLENGES. HIV.
HIV. THIS IS A MAJOR BREAK THROUGH.
DOCTORS REVEALED THAT AN
HIV-POSITIVE MAN HAS BECOME THE
SECOND-KNOWN ADULT IN THE WORLD
TO BE CLEARED OF THE VIRUS.
HE RECEIVED A BONE MARROW
TRANSPLANT FROM AN HIV-RESISTANT
DO NOR AND IS IN LONG-TERM
REMISSION.
REMISSION. THIS MARKS A HUGE STEP IN
FINDING A CURE FOR THE VIRUS.
ONE THAT HAS SPARKED A GLOBAL
HEALTH CRISIS PRE-DATING THE
1980s NOW IT’S IMPORTANT TO IV
AND AIDS IS NOT THE SAME THING.
HIV IS A VIRUS.
AIDS IS CONSIDERED THE CONDITION
DURING THE LAST STAGE OF AN HIV
INFECTION.
INFECTION. HIV CAN ONLY BE SPREAD THROUGH
BODY FLUIDS FROM SOMEONE WHO
ALREADY HAS THE VIRUS.
HI VI AND AIDS HAVE IMPACTED
36.9 MILLION PEOPLE GLOBALLY IN
2017 ALONE.
2017 ALONE. 1.8 MILLION OF THOSE CASES WERE
CHILDREN YOUNGER THAN 15 YEARS
OF AGE.
OF AGE. THE MAJORITY OF CHILDREN WITH
HIV LIVE IN SUB SAHARAN AFRICA
AND AFFECTED BY MOTHERS THROUGH
PREGNANCY, CHILD BIRTH OR
BREAST-FEEDING.
BREAST-FEEDING. STATISTICS SHOW OVERALL PEOPLE
LIVING WITH THE VIRUS WERE
PREDOMINANTLY FROM LOW AND
MIDDLEING IN COUNTRIES.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER TOO
MANY PEOPLE CURRENTLY LIVING
WITH HIV OR AIDS DO NOT HAVE
ACCESS TO PREVENTION OR
TREATMENT.
TREATMENT. BUT THE VIRUS HAS SEVERE IMPACT
HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, TOO.
APPROXIMATELY 1.1 MILLION PEOPLE
IN THE UNITED STATES CURRENTLY
HAVE HIV.
HAVE HIV. ABOUT ONE IN SEVEN OF THEM HAVE
NO IDEA THAT THEY ARE INFECTED.
JOINING ME NOW THE DIRECTOR OF
ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES,
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI HE HAS BEEN
WORKING WITH AIDS SINCE 1981.
GOOD TO SEE YOU, THANK YOU FOR
BEING WITH US.
>> GOOD TO BE WITH YOU.
>> LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT WHAT A
BIG DEAL THIS IS. IS.
I REMEMBER TALKING TO YOU BACK
IN THE DAY WHEN THIS WAS STILL
SOMETHING THAT WE DIDN’T KNOW
HOW IT WOULD END.
WHEN A.I.D.S. FIRST SURFACED,
THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT
THIS WAS GOING TO BE THE WORST
THING THAT THE WORLD HAD EVER
SEEN.
SEEN. IT CERTAINLY FELT THAT WAY.
THEN WE GOT TO THE POINT WHERE
IF YOU COULD GET ACCESS TO THE
TREATMENT, IT WAS TREATABLE.
THIS IS A MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH.
>> YOU KNOW, ALI, I THINK YOU
HAVE TO PUT IT IN CONTEXT AND
WHY I’M A BIT MUTED ABOUT IT
BEING A MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH.
THIS IS A BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT
THAT WAS DONE ON SOMEONE WHO
NEEDED A TRANSPLANT BECAUSE THEY
HAD HODGKIN’S DISEASE, AND THE
TRANSPLANT WAS TO BOTH CURE THE
HODGKIN’S, BUT WHAT THEY DID IS
TOOK THE MARROW FROM A DONOR WHO
HAD A GENETIC DEFECT THAT
DOESN’T MAKE THE PERSON SICK BUT
A GENETIC DEFECT THAT DOESN’T
ALLOW THAT PERSON TO GET
INFECTED WITH HIV.
SO WHEN THEY TRANSPLANTED THE
MARROW OF THIS SPECIAL KIND OF
DEFECT INTO THIS PERSON, THE
VIRUS HAD NOWHERE TO GO.
SO THE VIRUS ESSENTIALLY
DISAPPEARED.
DISAPPEARED. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WAS DONE
ABOUT TEN YEARS AGO WITH THE
FAMOUS GERMAN BERLIN PATIENT,
WHICH WAS TIMOTHY BROWN, WHICH
WAS THE FIRST SO-CALLED CURE.
FROM A CONCEPTUAL STANDPOINT, IF
YOU MODIFY THE RECEPTOR THE
VIRUS NEEDS, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER
YOU CAN GET TO A SITUATION WHERE
THE VIRUS WON’T REPLICATE.
BUT TO THINK THAT BONE MARROW
TRANSPLANTATION IS GOING TO BE A
SCALEABLE, FEASIBLE, SAFE WAY TO
TREAT INFECTIONS IS REALLY
UNFORTUNATELY MISLEADING BECAUSE
IT IS NOT.
>> IS THAT CONCEPTUAL IDEA YOU
OUTLINE, IS THAT NEW, OR HAVE WE
ALWAYS KNOWN THAT?
WAS THAT SOMETHING APPLICABLE TO
MOST DISEASES?
MOST DISEASES? >> NO, IT’S CERTAINLY NOT
APPLICABLE TO MOST DISEASE, ALI,
BUT WE’VE KNOWN IT ABOUT HIV.
YEARS AGO IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT
PEOPLE WHO HAVE THIS GENETIC
DEFECT OF NOT HAVING A RECEPTOR
FOR THE VIRUS ON THEIR CELLS
SOMEHOW OR OTHER WERE COMPLETELY
UNABLE TO GET INFECTED.
THEN WE FOUND OUT FROM THE
ORIGINAL BERLIN PATIENT THAT IF
YOU TAKE MARROW FROM ONE PERSON
THAT HAS THIS DEFECT AND PUT IT
INTO AN A.I.D.S. PATIENT, THAT
PERSON WILL NO LONGER REPLICATE
VIRUS.
VIRUS. SO WE’VE ALREADY KNOWN THIS.
WHAT THIS LONDON PATIENT DOES IS
CONFIRM SOMETHING THAT WE’VE
ALREADY KNOWN, THAT THIS
RECEPTOR, CCR-5, IS CRITICAL FOR
THE VIRUS TO REPLICATE.
SO IF YOU LOOK AHEAD AND SAY,
WHAT DOES THIS CONCEPTUALLY
GUIDE US FOR, IT MAY BE IF WE
CAN FIND A SAFE, SCALEABLE WAY
TO MODIFY THAT RECEPTOR IN
SOMEONE WITHOUT PUTTING THEM
THROUGH THE VERY RISKY PROCEDURE
OF A BONE MARROW, THEN THAT
WOULD BE VERY IMPORTANT FOR
LOOKING AHEAD ABOUT THE
POSSIBILITY OF CURE.
BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THIS GETS
REPORTED IN THE PRESS, PEOPLE
IMMEDIATELY BELIEVE THAT BONE
MARROW TRANSPLANTATION IS GOING
TO BE A WAY TO CURE HIV.
AND IT’S JUST NOT.
IT’S TOO RISKY.
>> IS THERE SOMEWHERE LOGICAL
THIS LEADS YOU -- OR BY THE WAY,
HAS OUR BIGGEST SUCCESS IN HIV
AND A.I.D.S. BEEN THE WORK WE DO
IN PREVENTION?
IN PREVENTION? WHAT DOES THIS LEAD YOU TO THINK
WE’RE LOOKING AT FIVE OR TEN
YEARS DOWN THE ROAD?
>> I THINK THIS IS MAYBE A CLUE
OF A WAY THAT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE
IN SOME PEOPLE TO GET THEM OFF
ANTI-RETROVIRAL THERAPY.
ANTI-RETROVIRAL THERAPY. WHAT THE AUDIENCE NEEDS TO
UNDERSTAND IS THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN ADEQUATE TREATMENT AND A
CURE.
CURE. TODAY WE HAVE SUCH EXQUISITELY
EFFECTIVE DRUGS THAT IF A PERSON
HAS HIV INFECTION, WE CAN GIVE
THEM ONE PILL A DAY THAT
CONTAINS THREE DRUGS THAT IN THE
MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WILL DROP THE
VIRUS TO COMPLETELY BELOW
DETECTABLE LEVEL.
DETECTABLE LEVEL. THE PERSON CAN LEAD ESSENTIALLY
A NORMAL LIFE AND WILL NOT
INFECT ANYBODY ELS
THAT IS THE BIG BREAKTHROUGH.
WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS GET ACCESS
TO THERAPY FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T
HAVE ACCESS.
HAVE ACCESS. A CURE MEANS YOU DON’T HAVE TO
TAKE THAT DAILY PILL ONCE A DAY.
SO WHEN YOU’RE LOOKING FOR AN
INTERVENTION TO REPLACE THAT
DAILY PILL, THAT INTERVENTION
BETTER BE VERY SAFE AND VERY
SCALEABLE AND VERY INEXPENSIVE.
AND THAT’S THE REASON WHY I’M
MAKING THE POINT ABOUT BE
CAREFUL ABOUT THE CONTEXT IN
WHICH YOU PUT A BONE MARROW