A baby born in Long Beach, Calif. is possibly the second newborn infected with the HIV virus that may have been cured by aggressive treatment soon after birth. On March 6, CNN reported about a newborn showing no signs of HIV after intense treatment with antivirals.
The baby girl was born to a mother with AIDS and was treated aggressively with antiviral medications as soon as 4 hours after birth. Now just months later, the little girl shows no signs of the virus at all. It is unclear if she has been cured or if the HIV has gone into some sort of remission.
In the case of the California HIV baby, more needs to be done to determine the health of the child. It is not normal to remove a patient, especially a child, from antiviral medications once they have tested positive for the HIV virus. In order to see if she truly is free of the disease, she will need to stop taking the medications and be further tested.
A similar case involving a Mississippi baby given antivirals soon after birth also shows no signs of the virus after three years. This is a huge advance in the treatment and battle against HIV and AIDS. Further tests and a clinical study involving the effectiveness of early HIV treatment is set to begin this year.