Friday 11 July 2014

Reckless HIV Mother

I was just reading about the "cured HIV" baby case, the "Mississippi baby" as she's known her mother with HIV, she was the basis of a study of importance to the whole world, giving early powerful retro-viral drugs to stop HIV reservoirs forming...


Unfortunately the reservoirs were there and HIV returned to the child.  So the study is a bust... Or is it?

You see, read the story, and the real story here apart from the medical one is a human one, this child in what we all know to be a struggling part of the US, was not present for all the study...

The report says it all, she was given the powerful treatment at birth, continued for 18 months... Then doctors could not locate her... This is a baby.. so the mother took this child away from potential life saving treatment, away from a study important to the whole world... and then 10 months later okay she reappeared with no sign of infection, but the infection has returned at age 4.

Whether, because the mother took the child away, or because of a re-emergence, or simply because she was likely living with her mother whom had HIV and reacquired it, we will never know for this child, the world stands pretty much now with a more complex study to perform, through the apparent apathy and departure of that parent.

This problem is then further emphasised with the second case in LA where that child appears to be cleared of the virus, but has received ongoing treatment.

The "Mississippi baby" is 4 now, if that child makes it to 16 or 21 and can comprehend their position in this study, I hope they see the actions of their mother as reckless as I do.


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