A 9-month-old HIV+ baby may have been cured after being treated for the disease four hours after birth.
The California infant, whose identity is unknown, is apparently virus free, said Dr. Deborah Persaud, a pediatrics specialist with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, at a medical conference in Boston. The child is being treated at Millers Children’s Hospital Long Beach and is still receiving a three-drug cocktail of anti-AIDS treatments.
This is the possibly the second case of a baby being cured of HIV. A Mississippi newborn, famously known as the “Mississippi baby,” was given antiretroviral drugs during its first 30 hours of life, sending the HIV into remission. The Mississippi baby, now 3, stopped taking the drugs two years ago and has tested negative for HIV.
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“Really the only way we can prove that we have accomplished remission in these kids is by taking them off treatment and that’s not without risk,” said Dr. Persaud. “This is a call to action for us to mobilize and be able to learn from these cases.”
A clinical trial, in which up to 60 babies who are born infected with HIV will be put on drugs within 48 hours of birth, is set to begin soon.