CROI 2014: Mississippi Baby Update
The Mississippi Baby born in 2010 at high risk of transmission from her mother was started on a triple cocktail immediately after birth, and continued on the medicines as an infected child anticipating that she would stay on those medications for a lifetime. After 18-months her mother stopped giving the baby medicines, and subsequent HIV testing demonstrated that the virus is in remission and has not returned but that it is still in some latent reservoirs. The treatment is being called a functional cure, as they have not been able to identify any replicating virus in the babies system. A second child was treated in CA similarly and has had full viral suppression and remains on therapy and future research is planned to identify the sweet spot for when and how much to treat individuals with early intervention and hopefully be able to achieve full viral suppression. The speakers remind parents of pediatric HIV cases that this case is not permission to stop HIV treatment mid course for any infected individual but to seek professional advisement on a case by case basis, as well as for all pregnant women to have an HIV test to inform their physician of their status before delivery.
Hanna Gay, MD, Associate Professor, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS;
Deborah Presaud, MD, Associate Professor, Pediatrics, Infectious Disease, Director, Infectioius Disease Fellowship Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD;
Fred Schaich, IFARA, Host