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New AIDS vaccine ‘cures’ five patients, report claims

By Chukwuma Muanya, Assistant Editor
27 February 2017   |   4:30 am
Three weeks after Prof. Maduike Ezeibe of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Abia State claimed to have discovered a cure for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome...

PHOTO: Mirror

• Nigeria disease control centre insists only treatment recorded
Three weeks after Prof. Maduike Ezeibe of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Abia State claimed to have discovered a cure for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS), Spanish scientists over the weekend said five patients living with the disease are virus-free seven months after taking a new vaccine.

According to a study published in New Scientist but first reported by DailyMailUK Online, the treatment, developed by researchers in Spain, allowed the patients to stop taking regular antiretroviral (ARV) drugs – the current method of suppressing HIV.

Scientists have yet to test the results in a large-scale clinical trial, but they say the vaccine may be a “functional cure.”

It is the first step towards success in a field that has failed to find a vaccine in the last 30 years.

Dr. Beatriz Mothe, from the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute in Barcelona, Spain, said: “It’s the proof of concept that through therapeutic vaccination we can really re-educate our T cells to control the virus. This is the first time that we see this is possible in humans.”

Mothe and her colleagues used an HIV vaccine made by Professor Tomáš Hanke from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom (UK).

The study included 13 participants, who had taken ARVs for a little over three years on average – all within six months of being infected.
After four weeks, eight of the patients saw the virus rebound. But the other five patients have gone six to 28 weeks without having to restart the treatment.

The virus became temporarily undetectable, but it has never gone above 2,000 copies per milliliter, which is the criterion to restart treatment.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, told The Guardian yesterday that there is no cure for HIV/AIDS as claimed by Ezeibe. “No, there is no cure for HIV. It is important that we do not deceive our people. There is no cure for HIV. However, treatment is available that allows those infected to live healthy and productive lives. We encourage everyone to get tested, know their HIV status and if positive, get treatment in one of many centres in Nigeria. Treatment is free,” he said.

Ihekweazu said NCDC wants to avoid giving false hope to patients who may now abandon their Anti Retro Viral (ARVs) drugs thus leading to an increase in prevalence and mortality from the disease. He said the agency also does not want a situation where the trust of partners and donors in the country’s health system is lost.

How about the claim of HIV cure by Prof. Ezeibe? The NCDC boss said: “Science is universal and there is no place for sentiments when it comes to science. While I would love for this breakthrough to come from Nigeria, there should be no emotional considerations in assessing the validity of scientific evidence.

13 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    That is the problem within our mindset that have been at the set of all our failures. You are disputing that there is a cure, but did you do it with facts, cure can come from anywhere, HIV is a virus and virus is man-made to kill, and the reason why there will be a cure soon is because, when HIV was created, it was manly to use to kill people, and because now everybody is at risk, they must get the vaccine as soon as possible,

  • Author’s gravatar

    If Prof. Ezeibe says he has discovered clinical cure for HIV, there should not be a display of jealousy from others who cannot perform this feat. What is required is to assemble themselves (Dr Ihekweazu & those who think they know or are also researching in HIV/AIDS) in a location and let them scientifically as experts challenge Prof. Ezeibe to locally give them explanation with empirical evidence of field trials & percentage success so far. If there is some measure of success, then they should support Prof. Ezeibe to move into world arena to prove this feat. I see so many Slave oriented brains still existing in Nigeria, who believe it is only the white that can find solution to human challenges. I have said it again and again, “THE BRAIN HAS NO COLOR “. a lot of us “Black color skin” have challenged other professional in like fields and lead them to submitting that we are best among equals. NIGERIAN STOP THINKING LIKE SLAVES WHO BELIEVES ONLY IN HIS MASTERS ORDERS TO GET THINGS RIGHT, YOU ARE NOW SOVEREIGN, SO CHALLENGE THE WORLD WITH YOUR BRAIN.

  • Author’s gravatar

    This new discovery will be hailed even in Nigeria, my country, but that of Prof. Ezeibe must be thrashed without verification.

    • Author’s gravatar

      Just because he is a Nigerian does not mean that we must approve of substandard a product. The guy did not put his discovery through rigorous tests

      • Author’s gravatar

        Bros I hail. Every research must be subjected to peer review to ascertain the methods and means of the findings. This Nigerian professor is a quack professor. The other day, a Nigerian professor said suya can cause cancer. Story. Tomorrow, bitter kola and salt can cure Ebola according to Nigerian professor. So, how many Nigerians have bitter kola and salt cured their Ebola. Yeye dey smell. Bros. Further, the United States government in the past jailed a professor for collecting their funds and coming out with fake HIV cure. No government in the world, Nigeria inclusive should condone fake research and cure. The Nigerian professor case should be referred to EFCC. Nigerians have forgotten their was a quack professor in the past from a university in the South South with such claims after alleging that he drank HIV virus and upon taking his concoctions he became HIV free. So that is how researches are carried out. Until, we remove sentiments and charge these clowns to court masquerading as professors, very soon Nigeria will become a laughing stock. Very soon in Nigeria, tomatoes will cure cancer. Rubbish.

      • Author’s gravatar

        The onus is on relevant government agencies and experts in medicine to listen to him and challenge him where necessary, rather than out-rightly dismissing him with a wave of the hand. How come we believe discoveries from other climes without calling for ”rigorous tests”?

  • Author’s gravatar

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  • Author’s gravatar

    Will they be “virus free” tomorrow?

  • Author’s gravatar

    Science is simple in these matters. A cure for HIV/AIDS is authentic when peers of a “discoverer” see and believe that the drug has cured people of the disease. I think Prof Ezeibe should not get too excited until rigorous checks are carried out by his colleagues. Neither should he be condemned off-hand by the Ministry of Health staff who are not doing any research themselves

  • Author’s gravatar

    IT IS NOT A CURE. THE ONLY PROOF OF CURE IS DNA PCR BEING NEGATIVE. EVEN AT THAT THE VIRUS CAN REBOUND WITHOUT ARVS AS HAPPENED IN NAMIBIA IN ONE CASE. THE TRUTH IS THAT THERE IS NO CURE FOR HIV INFECTION PERIOD. THERE IS ONLY TREATMENT. VIRAL COPIES OF LESS THAN 200 /ML DOES NEVER MEAN CURE EVEN O /ML IS NOT A CURE.

  • Author’s gravatar

    This is the difference between us and others, if there is a claim like this all the government needs to do is to rally around that person, give him all the necessary support to carry out more research on it and have it tested so that the validity will be proven.i personally do not belief that cure cannot come, the politics of it it where will the cure come from.

    Because of our mentality that nothing we make is as good as those imported , we will remain in this situation for a very long time. the statement of Ihekweazu is highly discouraging and demoralizing rather than energizing and i think this is part of the reason Nigeria professors continued to use textbooks that are outdated and does not care much to research and write books.
    Every country desire to improve their status but ours is not, we desire and continue to wait for improvement to come us by way of importation. why is it that Nigerians excel outside Nigeria ? but Nigerians are stunted within Nigeria.?

  • Author’s gravatar

    Greetings to the general public, I want to tell about how I was cured of HIV / AIDS disease by a Doctor named Dr. Baba OTUBA ISE I was browsing through the Internet searching for HIV and I saw comments of people talking about how Dr. Baba OTUBA ISE cured them. I was scared because I never believed in the Internet but I was convinced to give him a try because I had no hope of being cured of HIV / AIDS so I decided to contact him with his email that was listed on the comment (otubaise44 @ gmail .com) when I contacted him he gave me hope and I sent Herbal medicine to me that it worked and it worked for me, I am free person now without problem, my HIV came came out negative. I pray for you Dr Baba OTUBA ISE God will give you everlasting life, you shall not die before your time to be sincere and grate men. Am so happy, you can also contact him if you have any problem Email: otubaise44@gmail.com