There’s been another step in the right direction in the fight against the HIV-Aids pandemic; renowned international HIV professor, Ravindra Gupta, says genetic differences between European and African patients has created a barrier for HIV remission on the continent. The latest development was revealed at conference held in Durban.
It is one of the biggest breakthroughs since the early 80’s in HIV research.
South Africa is one of the countries hardest hit by the HIV epidemic with over 7 million people living with the disease. Researchers around the world continue the search for a cure, but HIV remission is the closest Professor Gupta could achieve.
However, it’s still not close to benefiting patients in Sub-Saharan Africa. That’s because of a genetic difference between Europeans and Africans.
Prof Gupta discovered this in tests on a Caucasian patient in London.
“We are in very early stages of trying to translate what we found in this one person. But work has been going on in the background since the Berlin patient was discovered 10 years ago. But this patient proves that the CCR5 protein is good to look at in terms of remission.”
The renowned scientist says investment in research could help provide better solutions for the continent.
“The investment in basic science is absolutely critical to gain understanding on what you need to eliminate this virus.”
He has encouraged further collaborations with government in order to advance HIV research.
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