Antenatal Testing, Intervention Could Save Babies from HIV Infection

All pregnant women, particularly those from countries with a high HIV prevalence, should be tested for HIV early in their pregnancy.

Research reported in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia shows that mother-to-child transmission rates have been significantly reduced through interventions where HIV infection is diagnosed antenatally.

AIDS/HIV - Distribution Pattern
Epidemiologic studies indicate three broad yet distinct geographic patterns of transmission

The research examined perinatal exposure to HIV among children born in Australia between 1982 and 2006.

Co-author Professor John Kaldor, Deputy Director and Professor of Epidemiology at the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Sydney, said the research showed a substantial increase in the reported rate of perinatal HIV exposure over the period, from 2.3 to 8.3 per 100,000 live births, partly due to increased testing of pregnant women.

“The increase in rates was largely related to HIV infection in women from countries with a high prevalence, such as sub-Saharan Africa, but not among Australian-born women,” Professor Kaldor said.

AIDS/HIV - Prevention & Transmission
Encyclopedia section of medindia explains in brief about the prevention for AIDS/HIV

“However, it is known that use of three interventions – antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy, elective caesarean and avoidance of breastfeeding – can reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to babies.

“Among children whose mothers were diagnosed antenatally, mother-to-child transmission declined from 25% in 1987-1990 to 5% in 2003-2006, and to 1% among those whose mothers used at least two interventions.

How to use a condom
This Interactive provides step by step visual aid showing how to correctly use condoms which can prevent transmission of HIV, other sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy

Mother-to-child transmission remained high among children whose mothers’ HIV infection status was not known during pregnancy (45%) and among those diagnosed antenatally who used no interventions (47%).

An earlier study showed that use of antenatal HIV antibody testing has steadily increased in Australia to around 60% of pregnant women.

Quiz on HIV / AIDS
Statistics tell us that the world HIV+ population has risen drastically from 8 million in 1990 to a whopping 33 million in 2007! Even more alarming is the fact that young people (below the age of 25) account for half of these infections! This is adequate proof for the lack of awareness among the general public even in these modern times. So take our quiz and brush up on the essential facts of HIV/AIDS.

There are 10 questions on HIV / AIDS in this quiz that will explore the depth of your knowledge and provide answers to the following:

Immune control of HIV ()
Symptoms of HIV/AIDS ()
Cure for AIDS ()
Acute HIV syndrome ()
World AIDS day ()
Western blot ()

But HIV infection remained undiagnosed during pregnancy for some women, resulting in a substantial proportion of their babies becoming infected. National policy was revised in 2006 and now recommends that antenatal HIV testing be offered to all pregnant women.

Source-AMA
SRM