Recovery of viremic control after superinfection with pathogenic HIV type 1 in a long-term elite controller of HIV type 1 infection.

A human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected elite controller (defined as an untreated HIV-1-infected person with a plasma HIV-1 RNA level <50 copies/mL for at least 12 months) who experienced a viremic episode after superinfection regained natural viremic control, although the viral loads in the patient's 2 partners, infected with the same viral strain, were continuously approximately 30-fold higher. Thus, host mechanisms seem to be able to repeatedly control HIV-1 replication, halting disease progression.