A baby that was born with HIV may now be free of the infection, a new report that has been published suggests.
The report, which appears in the New England Journal of Medicine, says that tests show that the baby born with HIV is now free of the infection after treatment, The Associated Press reports.
The doctors involved in the report are hesitant to call the baby cured as they aren't entirely sure how long it takes to determine someone is actually cured of HIV. "We want to be very cautious here. We're calling it remission because we'd like to observe the child for a long time and be absolutely sure there's no rebound," Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga, of the University of Massachusetts, said.
That decision is backed by Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is considered the government's top AIDS scientist. "At minimum, the baby is in a clear remission. It is possible that the baby has actually been cured. We don't have a definition for cure as we do for certain cancers."
According to Los Angeles Times, the 3-year-old girl has not shown any signs of HIV and has not been administered any antiretroviral drugs for a year and a half.
The girl was given three drugs to take to fight the infection and experts believe they helped keep HIV from getting into the girl's immune system. She was put on a drugs regimen shortly after birth, which may become the new method for babies known to be infected with HIV.