Woman ‘cured’ of HIV for first time ever in ‘scientifically important’ breakthrough

A woman appears to have been cured of HIV for the first time ever, in an “important” breakthrough in the fight against the once-deadly virus.

The woman, who is mixed-race, would be the third person ever to be cured of HIV.

Scientists announced on Tuesday (15 February) that the method, which involves a stem cell transplant, could lead to more racially diverse people being cured of the virus in the future, the New York Times reported.

“The fact that she’s mixed-race, and that she’s a woman, that is really important scientifically and really important in terms of the community impact,” Dr Steven Deeks, University of California, San Francisco AIDS expert, said.

The woman was diagnosed with HIV in 2013. She also had leukaemia and received umbilical cord blood as a treatment for the cancer.

The woman also received blood from a relative to temporarily boost her body’s immune system as the transplant settled.