March 4, 2013 (USA TODAY) -- For the first time, doctors are
reporting that they have cured a child of HIV, the virus that
causes AIDS. The landmark finding, announced Sunday at an
Atlanta conference, will help scientists better understand the
nature of HIV, doctors say, and could potentially help HIV-
positive babies in developing countries. "I'm sort of holding my
breath that this child's virus doesn't come back," says Hannah
Gay, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of
Mississippi Medical Center, who treated the 2-year-old
Mississippi girl. Gay says she hopes the case "will show us a
way to cure other babies." Experts note that the girl's story is
unique and would not immediately lead to a cure for the 34
million people living with HIV worldwide. The baby contracted
the virus at birth -- rare today, given the success of treating
pregnant women with anti-HIV drugs that have nearly eliminated
mother-to-child transmission, Gay says. Doctors began treating
the baby, born five weeks premature,