Tuesday May 21, 2013
 

Baby infected with HIV could be cured

Featured News, Science & Technology, World | Tuesday, March 05, 2013
Dr. Deborah Persaud led the research for the cure of the baby

Dr. Deborah Persaud led the research for the cure of the baby

U.S. scientists said that in Mississippi, a baby born with HIV-AIDS could have been cured of this virus.

There is no guarantee that the two year-old child stays healthy, although advanced testing performed, revealed that there are only traces of genetic material of the virus. If that were the case, the baby would be the second case known in the world of a patient cured of AIDS.

History:

Before tests confirmed that the baby was actually infected with the virus, one of the doctors supplied this patient a faster and stronger treatment than the usually given to infants, starting with the implementation of three drugs in the first 30 hours after birth. His mother, who is infected with HIV was not diagnosed until she was in labor.

That quick action apparently ended with the HIV on the baby’s bloodstream, before the virus could dig into the body. Those denominated reservoirs of latent cells, usually re-infect  those that cease to take their medicine

A team led by Dr. Deborah Persaud, who investigated the cure for the baby, plans to conduct a study to test the progress with more aggressive treatments to other high-risk infants. The case provides promising clues to help eradicate the infection in children, especially in African nations that suffer from this problem and where a high number is born with the virus.

This post is also available in: Spanish

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