Study finds treatment can cut baby HIV risk
Almost all babies can be protected from HIV tranmission, study finds
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Wednesday, 07, May 2008 09:31
Treatment can almost completely prevent HIV being passed from pregnant mothers to their babies, a new study has found.
The largest study into mother-to-child HIV transmission uncovered an infant infection rate of 1.2 per cent following antiretroviral therapy (ART).
This is a fall from over 20 per cent in the mid 1990s before ART was available.
Although caesarean section delivery reduces the risk of HIV infection to the child, the study also found that ART drugs are so effective that a normal delivery is possible.
The research was carried out by scientists at the University College London Institute of Child Health.
They analysed data from 5,151 HIV positive pregnant women in the UK and Ireland between 2000 and 2006.
Claire Townsend, research fellow at the institute and the study's lead author, described the findings as "greatly encouraging".
"They demonstrate that if women are tested for HIV early enough in pregnancy for ART to be initiated, the risk of infection to their baby is very low indeed," she added.
"This emphasises the importance of achieving and maintaining a high uptake of antenatal HIV testing on a national scale."
The study is published in the journal AIDS.