news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4432564.stm
See the interview Doctors say they want to investigate the case of a British man with HIV w ho apparently became clear of the virus. Andrew Stimpson, 25, was diagnosed HIV-positive in 2002 but was found to be negative in October 2003 by Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Tr ust. Mr Stimpson, from London, said he was "one of the luckiest people alive". The trust said the tests were accurate but were unable to confirm Scotsma n Mr Stimpson's cure because he had declined to undergo further tests. A statement from the trust said: "This is a rare and complex case. When w e became aware of Mr Stimpson's HIV negative test results we offered him further tests to help us investigate and find an explanation for the di fferent results.
Bacteria modified to fight HIV "So far Mr Stimpson has declined this offer." A trust spokeswoman added: "We urge him, for the sake of himself and the HIV community, to come in and get tested. "If he doesn't feel that he can come to Chelsea and Westminster then he s hould please go to another HIV specialist." Mr Stimpson, who is originally from Largs in Ayrshire, said: "There are 3 49 million people with HIV globally and I am just one person who manage d to control it, to survive from it and to get rid of it from my body. Mr Stimpson told the News of the World and Mail on Sunday that he became depressed and suicidal after being told he was HIV-positive but remained well and did not require medication. Further tests Some 14 months later he was offered another test by doctors, which came b ack negative. He sought compensation but has apparently been told there is no case to a nswer because there was no fault with the testing procedure. He has told the papers he would do anything he could to help find a cure. Deborah Jack, chief executive of the National Aids Trust, said: "This app ears to be a highly unusual case and without further tests it is impossi ble to draw any conclusions for people living with HIV. "The virus is extremely complex and there are many unknowns about how it operates and how people's bodies react to it. "Therefore, if this case were able to shed further light, it could be ext remely valuable for research into treatments or a cure." Vaccine clue Aids expert Dr Patrick Dixon, from international Aids group Acet, said th e case was "very, very unusual". "I've come across many anecdotal reports of this kind of thing happening in Africa, some quite recently, but it's difficult to verify them," he t old BBC News 24. "You have to be rock-solid sure that both samples came from the same pers on, no mix-up in the laboratory, no mistakes in the testing, etc. He said the case was important because "inside his immune system is perha ps a key that could allow us to develop some kind of vaccine".
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