First person believed to be cured of AIDS dismisses reports he still harbours virus

WASHINGTON – The first person believed to have been cured of AIDS says reports he still has the HIV virus are false.

Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the “Berlin patient,” says doctors have told him he’s “cured of AIDS and will remain cured.”

Brown had a blood stem cell transplant in 2007 to treat leukemia, using a donor with a rare gene mutation that provides natural resistance to HIV. Doctors declared him “cured” soon after.

But researchers in California recently found traces of HIV in his tissues. Brown says any remnants of the virus still in his body are dead and can’t replicate.

Brown addressed the media in the U.S. for the first time Tuesday, appearing frail but energetic. He announced the formation of a new AIDS foundation in his name.