Is it wrong that this is not particularly fascinating?
What the doctor did was essentially the same as the emergency medical response to blood contamination, which is to completely overdose the body on anti-viral medication. A huge dose immediately after possible infection has often saved medical staff from developing an entrenched infection. It is expensive though, and makes the person in question feel absolutely miserable but it saves lives.
The same principle has just been applied, and is essentially the same as giving pregnant women anti-retoviral drugs so that they don't pass on their HIV infection to their child. This treatment is basically the same in concept, just nastier and more extreme.