Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1987. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press; Thursday, November 12, 1987
The researchers are confident that the tests were accurate and are trying to find out whether some people might be able to rid themselves of the AIDS virus naturally, WBAL-TV reported.
"The observation is very interesting," said Dr. Homayoon Farzadegan, a researcher at Hopkins' AIDS unit. "It could mean some answers to that question. Are people being infected in the world that can get rid of the virus?"
Doctors have been unable to find a cure for acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and no vaccine has been developed against the human immunodeficiency virus, which is blamed for causing the fatal disease.
The people in the Hopkins study had not developed any of the life-threatening infections or cancers that result when the AIDS virus weakens the body's immune system, the researchers said.
In reviewing lab test results of patients who had tested positive for the AIDS virus, the researchers said they found at least three people who tested negative for HIV after repeated retesting had earlier produced positive results.
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