HIV patient claims to have cleared the virus

LONDON (Agence de Presse Medicale) – British specialists
have appealed to a man who tested positive for HIV but claims
to have cleared the virus to return for further tests so that
they can discover what really happened.

Andrew Stimpson told two British newspapers on Sunday he
was “one of the luckiest people alive.” The 25-year-old
Scottish sandwich maker added: “All the doctors have told me it
is a medical miracle that I am clear.”

According to the reports, Stimpson had been diagnosed
HIV-positive in 2002 but was found to be negative in October
2003 by Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust in London.

He sought compensation but was told there was no case to
answer because there was no fault with the testing procedure.

A spokeswoman for the Trust in London confirmed that one of
its patients had tested negative for HIV about 14 months after
testing positive in May 2002.

“He did test positive and then later negative, but in terms
of curing himself, we don’t know because he hasn’t been back
for further tests,” said the spokeswoman. “We very much want
him to return so we can try to find out what exactly has
happened,” she added.

Scientists cite anecdotal accounts from Africa of people
eliminating HIV but say they have never seen firm evidence.

The hospital spokeswoman said subsequent DNA checks proved
there had been no mix-up in the identity of the patient and the
HIV tests but said she did not know whether there could have
been any other error in the original test.

Deborah Jack, chief executive of the National Aids Trust,
told the BBC: “This appears to be a highly unusual case and
without further tests it is impossible to draw any conclusions
for people living with HIV.

“The virus is extremely complex and there are many unknowns
about how it operates and how people’s bodies react to it.
Therefore, if this case were able to shed further light, it
could be extremely valuable for research into treatments or a
cure.”