Science & Technology

Doctors cure baby of HIV in world first

By T.K. Randall
March 4, 2013 ·  25 comments

Image Credit: sxc.hu The child whose name has been kept hidden for privacy reasons was born in Mississippi state and was considered high risk because the mother was unaware she had HIV until it was too late to give her the medication usually administered to prevent the virus being passed on to the newborn child. After being born the baby was given a treatment of antiretroviral drugs with the expectation of needing to take the medication for life, yet within a month the level of HIV in the baby's blood was so low it was almost undetectable.

"Now after at least one year of taking no medicine, this child's blood remains free of virus even on the most sensitive tests available," said Dr Hannah Gay. "We expect that this baby has great chances for a long, healthy life. We are certainly hoping that this approach could lead to the same outcome in many other high-risk babies."[!gad]The child whose name has been kept hidden for privacy reasons was born in Mississippi state and was considered high risk because the mother was unaware she had HIV until it was too late to give her the medication usually administered to prevent the virus being passed on to the newborn child. After being born the baby was given a treatment of antiretroviral drugs with the expectation of needing to take the medication for life, yet within a month the level of HIV in the baby's blood was so low it was almost undetectable.

"Now after at least one year of taking no medicine, this child's blood remains free of virus even on the most sensitive tests available," said Dr Hannah Gay. "We expect that this baby has great chances for a long, healthy life. We are certainly hoping that this approach could lead to the same outcome in many other high-risk babies."

Source: Guardian Unlimited | Comments (25)

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