First Woman Cured Of HIV After A Stem Cell Transplant

A woman suffering from leukemia in the United States of America has become the first female to be cured of HIV/AIDs and the third person in the world after she underwent a stem cell transplant.

“This is now the third report of a cure in this setting and the first in a woman living with HIV,” Sharon Lewin, president-elect of the International AIDS Society.

Read More: 88 Kenyans Get Infected With HIV/AIDS Daily

According to researchers, this was the first case ever involving umbilical cord blood to treat acute myeloid leukemia, which starts in blood-forming cells in the bone marrow.

“Since receiving the cord blood, the middle-aged woman of mixed race has been in remission and free of HIV for 14 months, without the need for potent treatments known as antiretroviral therapy,” said the researchers on Tuesday at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in the US city of Denver.

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The case is part of a wider study led by the University of California, Los Angeles, and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore that follows 25 people with HIV who undergo transplants with stem cells for the treatment of cancer and other serious conditions.

HIV Situation In Kenya

88 Kenyans, among them youth aged between 15 and 24 years are getting infected with HIV/AIDS according to the National Aids Control Council, further demolishing the efforts that had been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Experts say there is a low condom use among Kenyan youth, the majority of who share partners without caring about the consequences. Most who were interviewed “gauge their partners HIV status by use of eyes”… Huyu hawezi kuwa nayo.

A survey done showed that only 44 percent of men with multiple partners used condoms. 44 percent of the new HIV infections in 2020 were among the youth between the ages of 15 and 24. Experts say this is due to a lack of sex education in schools.

Read More: Why Bold Action Against Inequalities Is Needed To End HIV/AIDS