9 Heart-Warming Moments From 2013 Worth Remembering Next Year
6. A toddler was functionally cured of HIV
A baby born HIV-positive in Mississippi was administered high doses of three antiretroviral drugs just hours after she was born to a mother not diagnosed HIV-positive herself until just before the delivery.
Two and a half years later, doctors say there is no evidence of HIV in the child's blood, despite being taken off medication. As the first toddler ever to be "functionally cured" of HIV, the case is a game-changer in the global fight against AIDS. According to the UNAIDS Global Report, about 1,000 infants are born with HIV every day.
"If we can replicate this in other infants ... this has huge implications for the burden of infection that's occurring globally," said Dr. Deborah Persaud, a pediatrician at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. "For the unfortunate ones who do get infected, if this can be replicated, this would offer real hope of clearing the virus."
Read this and the complete article (which includes Malala Yousafzai, Pope Francis, and a Rubber Ducky touring the world):
http://www.policymic.com/articles/77599/9-heart-warming-moments-from-2013-worth-remembering-next-year