• Question: How long will it take to find a cure for AIDS?

    Asked by 294sysb42 to Carmen, Daniel, Laura, Noel, Steph on 6 Mar 2015. This question was also asked by blancavalero.
    • Photo: Noel Carter

      Noel Carter answered on 6 Mar 2015:

      To be honest I don’t really have any idea. It is a tricky virus to make a vaccine to see:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV_vaccine

      Also the current therapies are quite effective- if a little expensive as they have to be taken for a lifetime.

    • Photo: Carmen Denman

      Carmen Denman answered on 9 Mar 2015:

      Hello,

      Great question. Before I put in my two pence on the matter, let me ask you a question. Do we NEED to find a cure for aids, or would it be better to find a better way of PREVENTING the virus from making people sick in the first place, like for example a vaccine?

      Noel is correct on many counts, the antiviral therapy is expensive and not available to everyone due to the costs. He is also correct that the virus is VERY tricky, which is why it has been able to infect so many humans so quickly and so fatally around the world.

      My comment on needing to find a cure is not meant to be controversial, of course it would be wonderful to have better drugs to properly eradicate the virus. But nowadays, just like how diabetes is no longer a death sentence but a disease people can manage with medication and lifestyle, HIV positive people no longer have a death sentence. With good medicine a care taken people like Magic Johnson, a famous NBA basketball player who is also HIV positive, can live a long time.

      The issue is a complex one, and researchers are working very hard for better antivirals AND vaccine development. I think we are getting closer and closer to vaccine!

      Best wishes,
      Carmen

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