Two years ago a baby was born with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) in Mississippi. Now doctors and scientists have said that the child has been cured of the virus. This has become the first documented case where someone born with the virus has been cured. The child, who has not been identified, has been functionally cured and has been off medication for about a year now.
So far there have not been any signs of HIV infection in the child since its cure. The toddler is healthy and has become the second child in the world to be cured of HIV. HIV is a virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). The case was announced on March 3, 2013, at the 2013 Conference on Retrovirus and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.
Dr. Deborah Persuad of Johns Hopkins University, was one of the lead researchers, as well as the author of the report. The child was diagnosed with HIV at birth to a mother, who did not get prenatal care or HIV treatment. The infant was then transferred to the University of Mississippi Medical Centre and started an antiretroviral treatment roughly 30 hours after birth.
At the time, doctors had taken the step of prescribing three aggressive drugs AZT (azidothymidine) and nevirapine immediately after birth. The report said that the early intervention of the three medications had made the difference.
