German scientists, who used a bone marrow transplant to treat an HIV-infected patient with leukemia, have affirmed him cured of the virus. This is a surprising statement from the medical field where the word “cure” is hardly mentioned.

The patient had both HIV infection and leukemia when he received a bone marrow transplant in 2007 coming from a donor who had a genetic mutation, which is identified to offer patients natural immunity to the virus.

According to Thomas Schneider of Berlin Charite hospital and his colleagues, the patient is free of the virus almost four years after the transplant. The virus does not show signs that it is hiding in any part of his body.

Their results strongly suggest that the cure of HIV has been attained in the patient as they have written in the journal Blood.

A bone marrow transplant is the last resort for treating cancers such as leukemia. The treatment requires destroying the patient’s bone marrow and transplanting a different bone marrow from a donor with nearly same blood and immune system type. Several months are required to assist the patient’s recovery.

The treatment is not practical and it might kill people according to Dr. Robert Gallo of the University of Maryland. He helped discover the virus that causes AIDS.

Scientists have learned since 1990 that there are some people, often from the Northern European descent, have the genetic mutation and are seldom infected with HIV.

There are already some researchers working on the thought of gene therapy to help or try curing HIV; however the technology is still in experimental stages.