A baby born with HIV may be the first-known case of a cure for the virus, according to ABC News on March 4. The baby, born with HIV two years ago, now shows no signs of the HIV infection.
When the baby was born and the HIV discovered, doctors treated the child with medication. The mom and baby then disappeared and fell off the medical radar. Recently, they were found again and the child was tested to see how much of the virus remained. To their surprise, the doctors found none.
The doctors and scientists are being cautious, saying that the child is “functionally cured.” In fact, the child has been off the medication for a year.
The medications given to the baby at birth were three aggressive drugs: AZT, 3TC and nevirapine. According to Dr. Rowena Johnston of amfAR, the mother received no prenatal care or HIV treatment. If the child is indeed cured, Dr. Johnston feels that it was the early intervention of those three drugs.
As exciting as this news is, doctors are urging caution. It is only one documented case and much more research needs to be done. Still, it is a ray of hope shining in the darkness that is HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
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