01/08/2026
Why HIV has no cure yet?
๐ WHAT IS HIV?
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
It is a virus that attacks a key part of our immune system: CD4 cells, or โfighter cells.โ These cells help defend us from germs and keep us healthy.
Without them, our body struggles to fight off illnesses. Over time, HIV weakens these fighter cells, which can lead to AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) if it is not treated ๐ฅฒ
๐ HOW DOES HIV ENTER THE BODY?
HIV spreads through specific body fluids
- blood
- semen
- vaginal fluids
- re**al fluids, and breast milk.
People usually get HIV through unprotected s*x, sharing needles or syringes, or from an HIV-positive mother to her baby during childbirth or breastfeeding.
Please note that unlike a cold or the flu, HIV cannot spread through casual contact, like hugging or sharing food ๐๐ผ
๐ WHAT HAPPENS ONCE HIV ENTERS THE BODY?
When HIV enters the bloodstream, it looks for CD4 cells to attach itself to.
Once it finds one, it injects its own genetic material into the cell.
This process is like a โtakeover,โ where HIV turns the CD4 cell into a virus-making machine, creating new HIV particles.
These new HIV particles then find other CD4 cells to infect, spreading the virus through the immune system.
๐ WHY IS HIV SO HARD TO CURE?
- DNA HIDING TRICK
One of the biggest challenges with curing HIV is that it can โhideโ by inserting its genetic material into the DNA of the CD4 cells it infects.
This means HIV is not always visible to the immune system or to treatments, as it becomes part of the infected cellโs own DNA.
As a result, even with powerful medication, the virus can stay hidden within the bodyโs cells, making it extremely tough to eliminate completely.
- HIVโs SECRET HIDEOUTS IN THE BODY
Besides hiding in cells, HIV can create reservoirs, places in the body where it stays hidden in a โsleepingโ state, like inside the lymph nodes, brain, and bone marrow.
In these reservoirs, the virus is not active, so it doesnโt make new viruses.
But if treatment stops or the immune system gets weak, these โsleepingโ viruses can wake up and start reproducing again, allowing HIV to return.
- HIV CAN CHANGE QUICKLY
HIV has another tricky feature: it changes a lot.
Each time it makes new copies of itself, thereโs a chance for small changes or โmutations.โ
These changes help HIV adapt quickly, making it harder for medicines to keep up.
Even if a treatment works at first, HIV can mutate and become resistant, meaning the medicine will not work as well
๐ THERE IS HOPE
Scientists are working hard on ways to cure HIV, but the virusโs ability to hide, mutate, and create store houses makes this very difficult.
Some new research focuses on finding ways to โwake upโ the sleeping virus in reservoirs so it can be attacked.
Other research is exploring genetic treatments to make CD4 cells resistant to HIV.
NOTE:
THERE ARE MANY PROPOSED CURES TO HIV TODAY
THIS THREAD DOES NOT DISCREDIT ANYONES FINDINGS
THIS THREAD AIMS TO OFFER SIMPLIFIED KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT SCIENTISTS HAVE SHARES
What do you think?
