[TRACE]In the 90s, we heard about the AIDS epidemic on every local newscast.
We were irrationally afraid of toilet seats, pay phones, even kissing people; sex became
scary.
And while we don’t see those Public Service Announcements anymore...
AIDS hasn’t gone away.
It’s still a global epidemic.
To date, over 39 Million people have died of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
commonly known as AIDS.
Current drug therapies mean it’s now possible to live a normal life span with HIV, but that’s
expensive and not a long term solution.
What we really need is an HIV vaccine and a cure.
So, how close are we?
[TRACE] Only one person has ever been cured of HIV56 - Timothy Ray Brown.
In 2007, he was undergoing cancer treatment and was cured of the HIV virus.
Researchers still don’t understand exactly why or how.
[DR MARGOLIS] The things that he went through to cure his cancer also ended up curing his
HIV and the treatment was rather dreadful and had many terrible side affects and had
an expected fatality rate of around 70%.
[TRACE] After fighting this virus for nearly 40 years, with only one person cured, (which
was a fluke we don’t completely understand, and can’t replicate, in which it will probably
kill you) we’ve still learned a lot.
Once scientists figured out how the virus worked, they needed to figure out how then,
to eradicate it.
. But that was easier said than done.
You see, the virus’s RNA invades your cells and changes your DNA.
So the challenge was finding a drug that could kill HIV, but not your own cells.
By 1996, they were able to make advances in antiretroviral combination therapy meaning
that HIV was no longer a death sentence.
Like a gang of defensemen dragging down a football player, the drugs work together to
stop HIV in it’s tracks.
After killing millions of men and women, this cocktail let people live relatively normal
lives.
Doctors could then take the time to look for a cure.
[DR GREENE] There's certainly an AIDS epidemic that continues.
In fact, it is pandemic in proportions throughout the world
[DR THUMBI] HIV/AIDS is probably the most serious public health crisis we’ve had in
Sub-Saharan Africa, in Africa, in the world in fact, since the beginning of time.
In terms of the numbers of people infected and the scope and the socio-economic impact
of the problem.
[TRACE] To fix the AIDS epidemic, we need a vaccine and a cure.
A vaccine to stop the HIV virus from spreading and a cure for the people who already are
infected.
[DR THUMBI] The most significant problem that we face in making a vaccine against HIV is
the genetic variability.
Viruses that look similar but are not alike, And so in making a vaccine, we have to make
a vaccine that would be able to protect against all the strains of HIV that exist in the body,
but also that exist throughout the world.
[TRACE] This is why it’s so difficult to get rid of HIV once it infects your body.
Remember, the virus’s RNA invades your cells and changes your DNA.
The anti-retroviral stops it, but doesn’t kill it.
[DR MARGOLIS] In the future, treatments might get even better or more long-lasting, where
one could have an injection or an implant of drugs that lasted for months or even a
year.
[TRACE] There are vaccination trials going on now with some success.
But if you’ve followed science news, you might have made this connection already...
this virus hiding in our DNA, and we’ve got a new DNA-editing technique CRISPR-cas9.
Why don’t we just use that?
CRISPR-cas9 uses a protein called cas9 to cut DNA wherever it’s programmed to.
It’s part of our own cell's internal immune systems!
Cas9 could be told to search for a specific sequence, like a bit of HIV...
If it finds the virus, the cas9 could cut the HIV out of the cell, and let the DNA heal
itself.
This can be done today...in the lab.
We can’t yet do it in humans...
Drugs to control the virus are still the best way to live a semi-normal life.
[DR GREENE] I can’t say how many years for a cure, i can tell you there are many many
people throughout the world that are working hard on new cutting edge technologies to find
a cure.
[DR THUMBI] I don't think we are close, to be honest, to a cure, but we are making progress,
and it's my firm belief that we should continue to do research, and hopefully we'll have some
scientific discoveries in the future that will lead us to a cure.
[TRACE] Look, we’ve come a long way, but we’re not there yet.
The research into the fight against AIDS has taught us so much about how our body functions
it’s taught us a lot about other diseases as well, like Hepatitis C or Zika.
And every year there are new breakthroughs in the fight against HIV.
There are scientists around the world working on this problem day-in and day-out.
So, how close are we to curing HIV and AIDS?
A cure could be a while or it could be tomorrow...
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Did you know gay men are often turned away at blood drives?
Even during times of severe need!
Why?
Find out in this video here.
And thanks for watching Seeker.