Scientists’ discovery gives hope to cure AIDS

I READ an article titled, “Israeli Scientists see breakthrough in AIDS cure” in the Israel Times dated Nov 2 and thought it would be better to have it shared with your readers.
According to the report, two Israeli scientists at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have developed a HIV drug that contains an active peptide (a smaller version of a protein), which has noble properties in the treatment of HIV.
The drug tested on 10 HIV infected blood samples was found to decrease the HIV virus count by as much as 97 per cent in eight days.
The drug now being tested causes HIV infected cells to self-destruction without harming the rest of the cells of the body.
This is a new hope and a breakthrough in HIV drug research.
HIV is currently treated with cocktail drugs that slows the progression of the infection in the body but never rid the patient of the virus entirely but this drug destroys the cell with no chance of awaken.
Such a drug when sold on the pharmacy’s shelf will cure HIV.
The PNG government and foreign aid agencies have spent more money into controlling spread of HIV/AIDS, which has and is taking its toll in the country.
The National AIDS Council and the Health Department should look out for such scientific breakthrough.’
Once these drugs are commissioned and commercialised, PNG should be among the first importers.
In the long run, it will be help HIV patients as well as cost saving for the current preventive outreach programmes in PNG.

Scientist
Port Moresby