Baby Born With HIV Apparently Cured

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Scientists announced Sunday that a baby born with HIV has apparently been cured after receiving aggressive treatment shortly after birth, the Associated Press reported

The child has been off medication for a year with no signs of infection, though tests have revealed traces of the virus’s genetic material remaining. If the Mississippi child, who is now 2 1/2 years old, remains HIV-free, they would be only the second person reported cured in the world.

“You could call this about as close to a cure, if not a cure, that we’ve seen,” Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health, who is familiar with the findings, told The Associated Press.

 

A doctor gave this baby faster and stronger treatment than is usual, starting a three-drug infusion within 30 hours of birth. That was before tests confirmed the infant was infected and not just at risk from a mother whose HIV wasn’t diagnosed until she was in labor…

 

That fast action apparently knocked out HIV in the baby’s blood before it could form hideouts in the body. Those so-called reservoirs of dormant cells usually rapidly reinfect anyone who stops medication, said Dr. Deborah Persaud of Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. She led the investigation that deemed the child “functionally cured,” meaning in long-term remission even if all traces of the virus haven’t been completely eradicated.

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