Child Born with HIV is Cured

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/03/04/173258954/scientists-report-first-cure-of-hiv-in-a-child-say-its-a-game-changer

Sunday March 3, 2013 a two and a half year old girl from Mississippi was completely cured from an HIV infection. The little girl had been infected with the disease at birth and scientists have been starting treatment within just 31 hours after she was born. She got powerful HIV drugs and within months she appeared healthy with clean blood-a common result from the treatment she was receiving. After that, the mother had stopped bringing the baby in for checkups. Worried, a disease specialist named Hannah Gay ordered state authorities to track her down. The child’s blood should’ve been full of HIV once again, as it has always done in the past. But to the doctors surprises, her blood was completely normal, no sign of HIV anywhere. After running many blood tests and such, scientists discovered that the toddler’s treatment was a “functional cure”. This sparked scientists to search for a universal HIV cure. This event could really make a difference to HIV patients around the world.

There are many possible impacts to this event. It’s a big deal, and could mean a lot to HIV and AIDS specialists and treatments for it. If this little girl could be completely cured from the infection, then whose to say other HIV positive patients can’t be? This event was unique, only happening once before. It could be used to work on treatments fro other patients, and scientists and doctors could use the drugs given to this little girl to other patients to see if it would have the same effect. They could alter it and find new ways to make it work for others. Scientists believe if they could replicate what had happened, it could be very beneficial to the whole treatment of HIV. This is what matters about this event.

Residents all over the world should know about this because it can help thousands of people infected with HIV find a lasting cure for it. Many people in California, especially in San Franncisco, have HIV, and this sudden discovery could help those people live a happy, healthy life. They could have a life with no more worry of their low immune system or have to take numrerous pills and drugs just to survive. This is a significant discovery because it could cure the terrible diseases forever. No other person would have to suffer from it-and if they could cure this, then there could be other dieseases they could cure too. Perhaps even diseases like cancer. These are all reasons why the girl that got cured from HIV is important to people around the world.