A child born in California with the HIV virus has been proclaimed HIV-negative by doctors after receiving antiretroviral drugs shortly after its birth.
“The child … has become HIV-negative,” said said Dr. Deborah Persaud, a pediatrics specialist with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, of the patient, Reuters reported. A similar case in Mississippi was the first to document the achievement.
The child, now 9 months old, will continue to receive a “three-drug cocktail” of anti-AIDS treatments, Reuters reported. The child in Mississippi has been off its concoction of drugs of two years.
“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,” Dr. Persaud said, Reuters reported. “This is a call to action for us to mobilize and be able to learn from these cases.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.