Baby cured of HIV: New Hope, New Question

A toddler born in July 2010 has been 'functionally cured' of the deadly virus she was born with.

The Mississippi toddler was treated with aggressive HIV therapy within 30 hours of delivery and continued for 18 months. She is now considered cured of her infection, a team of researchers led by Dr. Deborah Persaud, a virologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, said in a news conference at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta on Sunday.

The remarkable case of the baby being cured of HIV infection in the United States using readily available drugs has raised new hope for eradicating the infection in infants worldwide, though scientists are still saying it will take a lot more research and much more sensitive diagnostics before this hope becomes a reality.

Dr. Hanna Gay who spear headed the girls treatment said she was surprise and panic to see the result even though the girl has not taken any medication for the past 5 months and now tested negative to HIV.