Kateryna Kon / Science Photo Library via Getty
Following up on a national strategy to fight HIV, England’s national medical director recently told The Guardian that the country is on track to eliminate new cases of the virus by 2030. The publication declared that the country was investing its hopes into becoming the first in the world to “defeat” HIV.
It would be a groundbreaking achievement, especially for combatting a disease that has no cure. But contrary to popular belief, no new cases does not mean the virus will have been eliminated, in the U.K. nor elsewhere. Experts warn that eliminating HIV will take international efforts to make effective therapies affordable, enhance care for vulnerable populations, and hunt for a cure or vaccine. Some of these endeavors are further along than others, but there is still a long way to go .
“It’s a highly laudable and aspirational goal,” Kenneth Mayer, the medical research director of The Fenway Institute in Boston, told The Daily Beast. “The question is whether it’s realistic.”
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here