HIV, in green, bursting out of a white blood cell it has
hijacked Rapid treatment after HIV infection may be enough to
"functionally cure" about a 10th of those diagnosed early, say
researchers in France. They have been analysing 14 people who
stopped therapy, but have since shown no signs of the virus
resurging. It follows reports of a baby girl being effectively
cured after very early treatment in the US. However, most people
infected with HIV do not find out until the virus has fully
infiltrated the body. The group of patients, known as the
Visconti cohort, all started treatment within 10 weeks of being
infected. They stuck to a course of antiretroviral drugs for
three years, on average, but then stopped, reports the BBC. The
drugs keep the virus only in check, they cannot eradicate it
from its hiding places inside the immune system. Normally, when
the drugs stop, the virus bounces back. This has not happened in
the Visconti patients. Some have been able to control HIV levels
for a decade. Dr Asier Saez-Ci