[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 35 (Tuesday, March 12, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1705-S1706]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING DR. HANNAH GAY

  Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, today I rise to recognize the work of 
Dr. Hannah Gay, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the 
University of Mississippi Medical Center's Blair E. Batson Hospital for 
Children in Jackson, MS. On March 3, the news broke that one of Dr. 
Gay's patients, a baby born with the human immunodeficiency virus, or 
HIV, had been ``functionally cured'' of the infection. Now 2\1/2\ years 
old, this child is only the second person in history to be cured of the 
virus. The infant was born to her HIV-infected mother at a rural 
Mississippi hospital and then transported to the University of 
Mississippi Medical Center, where she came under the care of Dr. Gay. 
Only 30 hours after the baby was born, Dr. Gay began an immediate and 
aggressive approach to treatment that seems to have made all the 
difference in this child's life.
  News of Dr. Gay's work and this baby's apparent cure has been 
celebrated around the world. This development opens a significant door 
to advance research and treatment for HIV and AIDS, the acquired immune 
deficiency syndrome. Millions of children around the globe have been 
infected at or during birth, and it is my hope that the spread of HIV 
among newborns will begin to slow and eventually stop with what has 
taken place in Mississippi what one doctor at Johns Hopkins University 
Medical School called a ``game-changer.''
  I share the pride of all Mississippians in Dr. Gay, a native of 
Jackson, for her achievement and her dedication to our State. She not 
only teaches and practices at the University of Mississippi Medical 
Center, but received her training there. As a mostly rural State, 
Mississippi faces many health care challenges, and our homegrown health 
care providers give us the best chance of finding solutions so that 
Mississippians can live healthy lives. Dr. Gay's work at the University 
of Mississippi Medical Center is addressing critical needs in our State 
with the potential to impact other countries and regions that struggle 
with the scourge of HIV.
  Congratulations, again, to Dr. Gay and her colleagues. Thanks to 
them, one child has the opportunity to lead a normal, healthy life, and 
we may be one step closer to ending the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. I 
wish all the best to researchers at the National Institutes of Health 
and other institutions as they explore the potential for Dr. Gay's 
method of treatment. I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the 
Record the Clarion Ledger article from March 7, 2013, titled: 
``Congratulations in order for Dr. Hannah Gay, UMC.''
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

            Congratulations in Order for Dr. Hannah Gay, UMC

                 [From ClarionLedger.com, Mar. 7, 2013]

       Yes, great things do happen in Mississippi.
       That's something we've known all along. But the rest of the 
     world seems to see us sometimes as a caricature of the lists 
     we make--high in obesity, low in education and income.
       But recent news that a baby born with HIV was likely cured 
     at the University of Mississippi Medical Center by 
     pediatrician Dr. Hannah Gay is something so powerful that the 
     rest of the world could not help but notice.
       Globally, it is arguably one of the most important stories 
     to come along in years for the health community--real hope 
     that HIV,

[[Page S1706]]

     the virus that causes AIDS, can be cured. That's why when the 
     case was presented at the 20th Conference on Retroviruses and 
     Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta last Sunday, the story 
     made headlines in newspapers throughout the world.
       The story is: A baby was born to an HIV-positive mother at 
     a rural hospital who was then transported to Jackson's UMC. 
     At 30 hours old, the baby tested HIV positive and Dr. Gay, a 
     pediatric HIV specialist at the hospital, put the baby on an 
     intensive drug therapy that continued until the child was 18 
     months of age. Tests along the way showed a progressively 
     lower viral presence in the infant's blood until it reached 
     undetectable levels at 29 days of age. The child, a little 
     girl, is now 2\1/2\ years old. She is healthy, with a normal 
     immune system--meaning she is considered HIV free.
       The child is only the second person in history according to 
     health experts to have been cured of the HIV virus. It is 
     also described as the first ``functional cure'' of an HIV-
     infected infant, which could lead to eliminating HIV in 
     children throughout the world altogether.
       And, it happened right here in Mississippi.
       It's not that we are surprised. UMC and its staff, 
     comprising more than 9,000 full and part-time employees, have 
     long been known for excellence. It is Mississippi's only 
     academic health science center, which strives to educate 
     tomorrow's health care professionals and eliminate 
     differences in health status of Mississippians based on race, 
     geography, income or social status.
       The stories of success over the years are too many to list 
     here. But it's important at this critical moment, as UMC and 
     Dr. Gay stand at the center of the world health stage for 
     work that could ultimately change the fortunes for so many 
     around the world, that we celebrate this accomplishment.
       We congratulate UMC, Dr. Gay and the thousands of others 
     who work for and with Mississippi's outstanding health 
     facility. If there was any doubt before, the world certainly 
     knows now--we do great things in Mississippi.

                          ____________________