The face of modern medicine may soon change after Israeli scientists on Sunday announced that a 10-year search for a Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) cure may have just come to a near end after discovering a newer more effective treatment drug called Gammora.
According to the study done by researchers from Israeli biotech company Zion Medical and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Gammora has the potential to eradicate 99 per cent of HIV by inserting the virus’s genetic material into the DNA of the infected cell.
Gammora, which just passed its first human clinical trial, can significantly reduce the viral load in human subjects by killing infected cells without harming healthy ones.
According to one of the researchers — Dr. Esmira Naftali — as quoted by a local daily, nine patients at a hospital in Uganda received different doses of the drug for a period of 4 to 5 weeks, after which they were again given the drug with additional retroviral treatment for the same period.
The second phase of the study is set to begin at a later period with 50 patients and dosage periods of three months.
n August, The National Aids Control Council (NACC) raised concerns over the increasing number of young people and children in Kenya who are living with HIV.
During the 14th Kenya Primary Schools Heads Association meeting in Mombasa, NACC Director Dr Nduku Kilonzo,said that there are about 300,000 young people aged below 24 years living with HIV/Aids in Kenya.
From the statistics, she said that about 184, 000 are those aged between 10-24 years and another 100,000 are children below 14 years, currently making Kenya to be fourth in the world, among the countries with the highest HIV burden after South Africa, Nigeria and India