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HIV reappears in 'cured' US girl

July 11, 2014

Doctors in the US have found that a girl thought to have been cured of an HIV infection still harbors the AIDS virus. The four-year-old, who had appeared to no longer need treatment, is now back on retroviral drugs.

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Bildergalerie Geschichte von HIV/AIDS
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

News that the virus had reemerged in the girl was described by physicians as "obviously disappointing," both in her own treatment and in the implications for other patients.

As recently as March, doctors said, the girl was believed to be free of the virus, having had no AIDS drugs for the past two years. However, it was revealed on Thursday, tests showed that the girl was no longer in remission.

The disappointment was described as "a punch to the gut" by University of Mississippi Medical Center's pediatric HIV specialist Dr Hannah Gray.

Because the girl's mother - who was known to have the virus - had no AIDS drugs during pregnancy, Gray started the child on a three-drug regimen of powerful retroviral drugs just 30 hours after she was born.

She was treated to the age of 18 months, when the medical team lost touch with her. Upon her return, there were no signs of the infection even though she was no longer taking the drugs - a result described by doctors as "unprecedented."

Development raises doubts

The news is likely to cast some doubt on the possibility that doctors in California have successfully cured a second child of the virus. In this case, the newborn girl was given very early treatment - just four hours after her birth - and appeared to be free of the infection a year afterwards. However, the girl has remained on treatment, making it difficult to make any conclusion about whether she is virus-free.

A federal study looking into similar early aggressive treatments might now also be reexamined. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the methods could be reassessed to see if they might be improved or whether they merely offer patients and their family false hope.

"We're going to take a good hard look at the study and see if it needs any modifications," said Fauci.

rc/slk (AP, AFP, Reuters)