Baby previously ‘cured’ of HIV’s relapse proves a big setback

Approximately three years ago a Mississippi infant was declared ‘functionally cured’ of HIV, meaning the virus was no longer at detectable levels in her blood stream; it was a breakthrough in the decades-long battle against the infection. Twenty-seven months later, however, reports from the child’s doctors indicate she’s once again testing positive for the virus in her bloodstream.

The medical breakthrough had been attributed to faster, stronger, drug combinations administered within 30 hours of birth, and the achievement was seen as a breakthrough for treating children born with the illness, but this new setback has proven disappointing for researchers.

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“Certainly, this is a disappointing turn of events for this young child, the medical staff involved in the child’s care, and the HIV/AIDS research community,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said in a statement. “Scientifically, this development reminds us that we still have much more to learn about the intricacies of HIV infection and where the virus hides in the body.”

The young girl was treated the day after she was born with a cocktail of antiviral medications. Her mother had received no prenatal care and was unaware she had HIV until she was admitted to the hospital in labor, and the child was given aggressive therapy even though she did not test positive for the virus at the time.

The drug administration was followed up by regular antiviral treatment for a period of 18 months, and after that, with no detectable traces of HIV in her system, the little girl was allowed to go off medication. She remained in what doctors consider functional cure state for close to three years, but earlier this month routine blood work showed the presence of the virus, this time with a low T-cell count, indicating a weakened immune system.

“We didn’t have the opportunity to treat the mom during the pregnancy as we would like to be able to do, to prevent transmission to the baby,” Dr. Hannah Gay, a pediatric HIV specialist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, said at the time to CNN.

“It felt like a punch to the gut,” Gay said. “It was extremely disappointing from both the scientific standpoint … but mainly for the sake of the child who is back on medicine and expected to stay on medicine for a very long time.”

The Mississippi baby was the first of two children functionally cured of HIV during the same time frame, but even though they both saw success with their aggressive form of treatment, some experts say taking the children off antiviral medication at all was questionable.

SEE ALSO: Early HIV treatment could lead to ‘functional cure’ of AIDS

“Taking kids off antiretroviral therapy intentionally is not standard of care,” said Dr. Deborah Persaud at the time. She explained that the second child, from California, shared the success seen with aggressive treatment, but was never taken off the antiviral medication. At this time the child is doing well and no plans to stop therapy are in the works.