Well this could be a major breakthrough in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Quite an exciting development for the world.
China Daily
Two women have been identified as carrying a mutant gene that is immune to HIV/AIDS, the first such cases uncovered in China, a researcher said.
The finding is the joint effort of a research programme, "Association of Human Genetic Polymorphisms with HIV Affections," jointly conducted by the University of Washington in the US State of Washington and local Infectious Disease Hospitals and medical institutions in Guangdong Province.
...
"Before, such mutant genes were only found in Caucasians. The finding has encouraged us to do further research in China, with the aim of developing medicines to prevent and cure HIV/AIDS for different races," said Tuofu Zhu, [associate professor at the University of Washington].
...
In Zhu's opinion, if medicine functioning similarly with the genes was put in the vagina and rectum, the HIV virus couldn't find its carrier to enter the human body and thus would be expelled.
In Shenzhen, both confirmed samples are women who have been exposed to HIV for many years but remained uninfected.
One of them, in her 40s, has kept a regular sexual life with her husband without any protection measures for nine years. Her husband, who was infected with the deadly virus by blood transfusion in 1994, was hospitalized in Shenzhen's Donghu Hospital in July last year.
Wow, ok I'd say 9 years without being infected is a long enough test.
According to Zhu they could potentially develop a medicine, which I'd assume could just be added along with the spermicide in condoms. I'm not sure if that's possible, but if it is it could be the easiest way to implement it. Of course then you'd have those countries that refuse to use condoms.
Story found at Slashdot
