A Mississippi girl born with the AIDS virus and in remission for more than two years despite stopping treatment now shows signs that she harbors HIV — and therefore is not cured.
The news is a setback to hopes that very early treatment with powerful HIV drugs might reverse the infection.
The girl is now nearly 4. As recently as March, doctors had said that she seemed free of HIV though she was not being treated with AIDS drugs. That was a medical first.
On Thursday, doctors said they were surprised last week to find the virus in her blood. She is back on treatment and is responding well, they said.
The news is “obviously disappointing” and will affect a federal study that had been about to start testing early, aggressive treatment in such cases, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“We are still very much in the early discovery phase of trying to achieve a sustained virological remission and perhaps even a cure,” Fauci said. “There is much, much more to learn, and we remain committed to doing so.”
