HIV virus returns in child thought to have been 'functionally cured'

Last year, a child born with HIV was revealed to be "functionally cured" thanks to the administration of a liquid antiretroviral almost immediately following her birth. Unfortunately, the National Institutes of Health have just announced that the so-called "Mississippi Baby" is now showing detectable levels of the HIV virus some two years after she was taken off of the drug regimen with no detectible levels of the virus.

"Scientifically, this development reminds us that we still have much more to learn about the intricacies of HIV infection and where the virus hides in the body," said Dr. Anthony Fauci from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. During a routine clinical care visit earlier in July, the nearly four-year-old child was tested and the HIV virus was detected — further follow-up tests confirmed the findings. Since then, the child has gone back on the antiretroviral therapy with her virus levels already beginning to decrease.