World AIDS Day 2025: Why is HIV Still Incurable? Understanding the Virus, Early Symptoms, and How ART Drugs Control It

World AIDS Day 2025: Every year on December 1, World AIDS Day is celebrated to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS. This year too, an appeal is being made worldwide for the Ending the HIV Epidemic, but the big question remains: despite so much progress, why has a cure for HIV not been found?

HIV is still incurable because this virus attacks the body's immune system, rapidly changes its form, and hides in places where medicines cannot reach. This is why, even today, ART medicines can control HIV but cannot eliminate it completely from the body.

Why is HIV Incurable? Know 5 Major Reasons

The Virus Changes Very Rapidly (High Mutation Rate)

HIV is among the fastest-changing viruses in the world. Each copy of it develops small errors (mutations), causing the virus to repeatedly create new forms of itself. This is why no single drug or vaccine works against all its forms.

HIV Attacks the Body's Protective T-cells

Our immune system fights viruses with CD4+ T-cells. However, HIV destroys these very cells. This means the cells that protect us are destroyed by HIV. In such a situation, the body easily succumbs to any infection, and the condition progresses to AIDS.

HIV Has the Ability to Hide in the Body (Latent Reservoirs)

HIV creates hidden reservoirs in places like the intestines, brain, and lymph nodes. ART medicines only target the active virus, but they have no effect on the dormant virus. As soon as the medication is stopped, these hidden viruses become active again.

There is a Big Difference Between Cure and Control

Research on two types of treatment for HIV is ongoing. The first is a sterilising cure, where not a single trace of HIV remains in the body. The second is a functional cure, where HIV remains present but never becomes active. So far, a functional cure has only been possible in a very few rare patients. This method is not yet feasible for everyone.

Lack of Research, Funding, and Health Priority

Research on HIV is continuous, but countries' priorities keep changing. Funding sometimes decreases, or research on HIV gets sidelined due to new pandemics (like COVID-19). This is why uniform and rapid progress towards an HIV cure has not been achieved yet.

Why is Awareness Important on World AIDS Day?

Detecting HIV in its early stages is the biggest preventive measure. Today, thanks to ART medicines, HIV patients can live completely normal lives, provided that timely testing, regular medication, and safe practices are followed. On this day, people are reminded that although HIV may be incurable, it is controllable and manageable, and a very safe life is possible.

Early Symptoms of HIV

The symptoms of HIV are often similar to a common viral flu, which is why people tend to ignore them. These include fever, sore throat, fatigue, rash on the body, weight loss, frequent infections, and swollen glands. It is crucial to get tested immediately after any suspected exposure, as early treatment is the only way to keep HIV under control.