HIV Recurs In Child Who Had Undetectable Viral Load On Therapy For 3 Years

News outlets report on the recurrence of HIV in an Italian three-year-old boy who stopped antiretroviral therapy after three years of treatment and undetectable viral load test results.

Bloomberg News: HIV Cure Quest Suffers Setback in Italian Boy’s Relapse
“HIV returned in a three-year-old boy who doctors thought had been cured of the virus, echoing a similar case last year that suggests early aggressive treatment fails to clear the reservoirs that make the disease a lifelong infection…” (Bennett, 10/2).

The Guardian: HIV bounces back in baby ‘cleared’ of the virus by drug treatment
“…The case comes after doctors in Mississippi this year reported a similar return of HIV in a baby girl who was born with the virus but tested negative after an early and aggressive course of antiretroviral treatment…” (Sample, 10/2).

Washington Post: False hope from ‘cure’ of Mississippi baby with HIV leads to reinfection of second child
“…The news was especially devastating because — unlike the child in Mississippi who missed treatments because her mother neglected to bring her back to for followup visits — doctors in this case stopped the antiretrovirals on purpose…” (Cha, 10/2).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.