It was in Scotland that a sheep named "Dolly" was cloned in 1996. Perhaps it will also be in Scotland that a vaccine for HIV will be discovered thanks to a man name "Stimpson".

In August 2002, Andrew Stimpson was handed a death sentence.

"HIV-positive" was the young Scottish man's sentence. However, fourteen months later he was tested again. After three additional tests to confirm it, he was told "you no longer carry the human immunodeficiency virus." Andrew Stimpson, now 25, is the first reported person to be "spontaneously cleared" of the retrovirus that causes AIDS.

Stylized rendering of a cross section of the hiv. Credit: Wikipedia.org

Doctors believe Stimpson's body rid itself of HIV.

Doctors also believe Stimpson's case can offer important insights into the behavior of the virus, and possible means of defeating it.

"Nobody has ever spontaneously cleared themselves of HIV," said a spokesman for the Terence Higgins Trust, an AIDS charity that has followed the case.

HIV is transmitted through direct contact of a mucus membrane with a bodily fluid such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid or breast milk.

After his initial diagnosis, Mr. Stimpson suffered from depression. However, he took no medication for this condition. To treat his HIV, he took nothing more than dietary supplements.

Mr Stimpson, who lives in London with his partner, who is HIV positive, said: "I was just taking daily supplements to keep myself as healthy as possible so as not to get full-blown Aids."

Stimpson was seen at the Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust in London.

He has agreed to be studied by doctors who hope to find out exactly what "cleared" him.

Deborah Jack, chief executive of the National AIDS Trust stated:

This appears to be a highly unusual case and without further tests it really is impossible to draw any conclusions for people living with HIV.

Currently 'Cleared' But Not Necessarily Cured

Mr. Stimpson is not being told he is "cured". He simply is not testing positive, at this time.

Stimpson's initial reaction after hearing the positive news that he is "negative" naturally led him to believe that the test he took in 2002 was incorrect. As a result, he attempted to sue the trust for making a false diagnosis.

However, an investigation by the NHS Litigation Authority concluded that the trust's Victoria Clinic for Sexual Health properly conducted the tests. Stimpson had no case. Both tests were proven to be accurate.

Mr. Stimpson shared with the press a letter he received from the authority stating he was no longer HIV-positive.

The authority said: the "fact you have recovered from a positive antibody result to a negative result is exceptional and medically remarkable".

Mr. Stimpson told the press that he felt special and blessed to have escaped a condition that he had thought was a death sentence.

He told the News of the World:

It was so shocking, because you just never expect that.

There are 34.9 million people with HIV around the globe and I'm just one person who managed to control it, to survive it, to get rid of it from my body.

I remember after the repeat tests my doctor came into the room saying, 'You've cured yourself. This is unbelievable. You're fantastic'.

It's so amazing to think that one day I was staring death in the face and now I am waving it goodbye.

That is unbelievable. I think I am the luckiest person alive.

Stimpson, who moved to London four years ago, complained of feverishness and other flu symptoms after being diagnosed. His doctors told him his body was "controlling" the virus well and that his immune system remained strong.

Only a handful of other patients have been known to "rid" their bodies of the virus. However, in each case, in the sub-Saharan region of Africa, it was impossible to prove that both the positive and negative blood tests came from the same person.

Dr. Patrick Dixon, an Aids expert from the international Aids group Acet, said:

You have to be rock-solid sure that both samples came from the same person, no mix-up in the laboratory, no mistakes in the testing, etc.

A spokeswoman for the Chelsea and Westminster trust said Mr. Stimpson's:

tests are both accurate, the positive and a negative; they are correct.

A Global Epidemic

According to UNAIDS' estimates for 2004, there were 35.7 million adults and 2.1 million children living with HIV at the end of 2003. During the year 4.8 million new people became infected with the virus.

The World Health Organization estimated that the AIDS epidemic claimed more than 3 million people and that 5 million people acquired HIV in the same year.

Approximately half of all people who become infected with the human immunodeficiency virus do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.

Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia states:

Currently, it is estimated that 28 million people have died and that it is set to infect 90 million Africans alone, resulting in a minimum estimate of 18 million orphans in the African continent alone.

One Key That Could Unlock A Vaccine

Australian Federation of Aids Organisations president Ian Rankin said insights gained from Mr. Stimpson's case could help millions of HIV sufferers.

Mr Stimpson said:

We need to be careful that rare events like this don't affect everyone's understanding of how seriously HIV infection affects people.

I will do anything I can if it will help find a cure for HIV.

Mr. Stimpson's prayer for a miracle was answered.

Inside Stimpson's immune system is hopefully a key that can allow scientists to develop some kind of vaccine. This is what Dr. Dixon hopes will come from this well-documented case. That is what we all hope and pray for.

Inspire & Be Inspired.

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful, "one step closer, perhaps, to finding the key to a cure" living!

~ Jennifer Carolyn King, Rugged Elegance, LLC

For the story Stimpson reported to the News of the World please go to: