Teenager controls HIV infection without drugs for more than 12 years

VANCOUVER, British Colombia (KRON/CNN) — A French teenager, who was infected at birth with HIV, has shown to have controlled levels of the infection in her body without treatment for more than a decade.

Researchers say the finding provides new hope for a “functional” cure for HIV. That’s when the virus is brought down to low levels but not eradicated in the body.

The 18-year-old female, whose mother was HIV positive, was given antiretroviral treatment soon after birth but stopped at age six. Researchers say the teen has since maintained undetectable levels of the virus in her blood. She’s considered to be in remission for 12 years now.

“This is the first [time] long-term remission has been shown in children, or adolescents,” said Asier Saez Cirion from the Institut Pasteur in France, who presented the findings at the 8th IAS conference on HIV pathogenesis, treatment and prevention, in Vancouver this week.