08/06/2023
If ARVs work by preventing HIV from attaching to a white blood cell, stopping it from reproducing; then how is it that a person can remain in the 'undetectable' status for months or years without getting cured? How long does one virus even live?
First of all, it’s not quite true that ARVs work as you described. They work by inhibiting various parts of the viral reproductive cycle, which includes integration- the process by which HIV integrates its genetic material into the host genome. Other ARVs stop replication itself.
Viruses are not little organisms floating around in the body. Viruses reproduce by entering host cells, hijacking their biology, and harnessing host protein synthesis mechanisms to build new viruses.
HIV is unique in that it establishes what is known as a viral reservoir. This consists of cells which are infected by HIV- aka, HIV has integrated itself into the cell’s genetic materials, but which are not recognizable by the host immune system. These latently infected cells may persist for years or even decades without entering a state of active production of new virions.
It is believed that eventually HIV would be eliminated from the body by ARVs, but the time frame for this is thought to be decades- far too slow to be a useful cure.
Violet Lindiwe
