A cure to HIV? Facts from Myths

Does a cure exist for HIV, or is this a futile pursuit? This question is central to the lives of millions who are infected by HIV across the globe. However, determining the answer is quite difficult, as there is too much misinformation on social media about a miraculous discovery in this regard, and numerous healers offering herbal “cures” for this infection. It would seem that the truth is both disappointing and encouraging at the same time. Thus, it is necessary to understand the essential thing: there is no way of getting rid of HIV at the moment.

The foundation of managing HIV consists of antiretroviral therapy, or ART, which is a strategic combination of drugs that prevents the replication of the virus. According to the 2024 guidelines by the International Antiviral Society, USA, all HIV-positive patients are required to take ART, which now includes the use of integrase strand transfer inhibitors such as dolutegravir and bictegravir. For those wishing to avoid the inconvenience of daily oral medication, long-acting injectable options have now been developed. ART functions through the suppression of the virus to levels that can be classified as "undetectable" in the blood. This does not mean that the virus is eliminated; it persists in the immune cells as part of the "HIV reservoir," where the current drugs cannot affect it. An "undetectable" viral load means that the virus is not transmissible to other persons, which is a very powerful principle called U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable). This principle has revolutionized HIV prevention. However, U=U is not a cure but a strategy for managing HIV.

Although ART is currently the only method proven by science to deal with HIV, many communities still rely on traditional herbal medicine and faith healing, both of which are strongly rooted in cultural beliefs, especially in places like Sub-Saharan Africa. While traditional medicine does have its role, it does not provide cures, only symptom relief. For instance, in South Africa, the CSIR has collaborated with traditional healers from Zimbabwe and Eswatini to produce controlled herbal medicines. However, these healers will not treat HIV, only its symptoms and co-infections. The herbal remedies brought into the marketplace were made to supplement ART instead of substitute it. On the other hand, scientific studies are being expanded to check if the compounds of traditional plants can help treat HIV in the future. For example, a plant called Gnidia kraussiana is used in Sudan and has been tested as a possible latency-reversing drug that would help get rid of the virus. Unfortunately, such studies are at the very beginning and will take a lot of time before being tested on humans.

However, the danger occurs when people use traditional healing or faith-based methods and think they are treating their HIV instead of relying on scientifically tested and approved treatments. In certain parts of Ethiopia, there are individuals who choose to stop ART during religious fasting or simply rely on holy water because they think it has healing properties. There are others who mistakenly believe that sexual relations with virgins have the ability to cure HIV. Myths like these can be fatal because herbal treatments do not provide the immune system with the protection it needs.

While true healing is still far away, researchers are not standing still. Their investigations are developing into two main directions: "functional curing," enabling them to keep the virus inactive without the need for constant treatment, and "sterilizing curing," in which it will be completely removed from the patient. The biggest challenge stems from the HIV reservoir, which persists in immune cells and hence manages to avoid both the immune system and ART.

It is worth mentioning that the latest news published on this topic is often exaggerated. Social media has been overwhelmed by claims that Australians created a cure in 2025. What is more important is that, in reality, researchers made a huge step toward the process of “stressing out” the virus from its hidden stage, but this is still a long way from creating an effective method. These misconceptions even provoke people to stop using what has been proven to be effective methods of treatment.

However, there are several rare cases, such as the “Berlin patient” or the “London patient,” who managed to get cured after receiving bone marrow transplant donors from those who possess the CCR5-δ gene mutation. Although these cases present some truly remarkable discoveries in the field of science and offer some hope, they are still not a real remedy for millions of people, since these interventions are highly invasive, very risky, and work only for patients with deadly forms of cancer who require transplants at the same time. Thus, these procedures are indeed a medical miracle and not a medical method available for everyone.

The notion of a simple cure for HIV is not just wrong but threatens patients with harmful decisions such as stopping their treatment, which leads to miserable side effects. Nevertheless, it should be highlighted that antiretroviral therapy is effective and gives HIV patients the chance to live very long, considering that their life expectancy is nearly equal to that of people who are not infected with the disease, and this is achievable when they undergo therapy in the right way.

Until science finds a true remedy, we should focus on the method that comes in the form of knowledge, medicine, and resolute adherence to the principles of evidence-based care.

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