Third person ‘cured’ of HIV after risky stem cell transplant

A German man has become the third person ever to be effectively “cured” of HIV thanks to a stem cell transplant 10 years ago.

His breakthrough case was first announced in 2019, but it wasn’t until Monday that researchers confirmed he was indeed HIV-free.

“We don’t think there’s a functional virus present,” Dr. Björn Jensen, the study author and division head of infectious diseases at Düsseldorf University Hospital in Germany, told New Scientist.

While the unidentified human immunodeficiency virus patient — known only as the “Düsseldorf patient” — is the third to be cured through a stem cell transplant, he’s now the fifth person ever cured of the virus.