Cured Subject: This unnamed child was infected with HIV through mother-to-child transmission. Doctors treated her with three antiretroviral drugs 30 hours after birth, resulting in a significant regression in the number of viruses in her blood, which dropped to levels undetectable by routine testing a month later. Treatment was unexpectedly interrupted when the child was 18 months old, but when she was seen again 10 months later, several tests still came back negative. The child’s immune system did not exhibit any of the characteristics of an “elite controller. The term “elite controller” refers to the very small percentage of people who are born with strong immune systems and can control HIV without treatment. Cured: The young girl from Mississippi, USA, was “doing well” 18 months after she stopped taking her medication, and even the most sensitive tests showed no signs of HIV activity in her body. In March 2013, the researchers declared her “functionally cured,” meaning that her body was completely suppressed and her immune function was normal. Evaluation of the cure: In a statement, the paper’s first author, Johns Hopkins researcher Deborah Persaud, said, “It is not a coincidence that this child is in remission, but likely the result of aggressive, early treatment that may have succeeded in preventing HIV from taking hold in the child’s immune cells.” The New England Journal of Medicine editorialized about this, saying that it is still not certain whether the HIV-infected child has been cured. It also cautions against being overly optimistic, as the child may be “unique. Treatment development: Researchers plan to launch a trial in 2014 to test the effectiveness of this treatment. Until 2013, prophylactic doses of antiretroviral drugs were usually administered to prevent infection in newborns whose mothers were at high risk for HIV, and only after infection was confirmed was a therapeutic dose administered.