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A pioneering study at UKZN has demonstrated that 20% of HIV patients in the trial remained off antiretroviral therapy while maintaining viral suppression.
Elsie, a 45-year-old aid worker who uses a pseudonym to protect her anonymity, used to spend her days wandering the streets of Msogwaba township, near Mbombela, to visit hundreds of children living with HIV. About 640 000 children have been orphaned by the virus. Picture: AFP
Health advocacy groups have welcomed the HIV-Aids clinical trial showing HIV patients can control the virus without using antiretroviral therapy (ART).
The groups were reacting to recent HIV cure research that was conducted in Durban by University of KwaZulu-Natal.
UKZN professor Thumbi Ndungu, the director for basic & translational science at Africa Health Research Institute said the “groundbreaking” HIV cure trial conducted has demonstrated promising results in achieving ART-free virus control.
The trial showed that 20% of participants remain off ART and are virally suppressed after one-and-a-half years, Ndungu said.
The results of the study were presented at the 2025 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, underway in San Francisco, US.
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Combination immunotheraphy
According to Ndungu, the study tested a promising HIV treatment approach called combination immunotherapy.
“The goal was to either eliminate or reduce hidden traces of HIV so the immune system could keep the virus in check without the need for lifelong medication.
“In the study, the first HIV cure clinical trial in Africa, the researchers treated participants with antiretrovirals soon after they acquired HIV. Once the virus was controlled by ART, they administered powerful immune boosters, which helped the immune system fight the virus more effectively.
“Under close medical supervision, participants then stopped ART to see if their bodies could control the virus on their own.
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“A total of 20 women were enrolled in the trial – a significant milestone because women are a group disproportionately affected by HIV yet are often underrepresented in cure-related research,” Ndungu said.
The trial results
“The results show that 30% of participants [six out of 20] were able to stay off HIV treatment for nearly a year and 20% [four] remained off treatment until the trial ended at 55 weeks.
“Even after the trial, the four individuals, who are still being closely monitored, have continued without medication for an average of 1.5 years. It is a significant development in HIV cure research,” he said.
Xabisa Qwabe, spokesperson for the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has welcomed the “encouraging results from the groundbreaking trial”.
“This research marks a significant step in the global fight against HIV/Aids.”
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