One of HIV’s deadliest tricks is its ability to hide. Even with daily medicines, the virus takes shelter inside immune cells, invisible to both drugs and the body’s defences. This is why, for decades, treatment has managed the virus — but never removed it.
Now, researchers at Melbourne’s Peter Doherty Institute have used mRNA-based nanoparticles to flush out these hidden traces of HIV in lab samples. It’s the first time dormant virus inside human white blood cells has been successfully exposed, offering a possible path to target it more completely in future treatments.
Breakthrough in search for HIV cure leaves researchers ‘overwhelmed’
For India, where over 2.4 million people live with HIV, this could be a meaningful step. Despite free antiretroviral programs, gaps in awareness, stigma, and late diagnosis continue to challenge public health efforts. Many patients live with the weight of daily medication and social silence.
It isn’t a cure yet — but it’s a crucial advance in a long fight. And in a country where barriers to HIV care remain stubborn, every genuine breakthrough deserves attention.