The apparently greater susceptibility of sub-Saharan African women to HIV infection has led researchers to consider the various potential synergies between HIV and other genital infections (White & Glynn (STIs); Lurie & Matthews (STIs)) or conditions of the vaginal microbiome (The susceptibility of heterosexual sub-Saharan women (STI/blog)). A recent study, Adachi & Nielson-Saines, brings this […]
Category: Mother to child HIV transmission
Health vulnerability of peri-natally HIV-infected youth: a growing problem throughout the world
Mother-to-child, or ‘vertical’, transmission of HIV is not just a problem for developing countries; even in countries like the US and the UK, peri-natal transmission has probably not been eliminated. But, with routine ‘opt-out’ ante-natal testing (BHIVA guidelines on HIV testing), cases are increasingly likely to involve births that have taken place overseas or before […]
HIV+ mothers without ART: when and how should they wean?
Without antiretrovirals, breastfeeding contributes 28% to the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission (MTCT) (http://sti.bmj.com/content/88/Suppl_2/i44.abstract?sid=fcfaeecc-767f-4db8-b644-77db5aa8db63). Antiretroviral drugs make achieving he WHO goal of near elimination of MTCT imaginable (http://sti.bmj.com/content/87/3/261.full; http://sti.bmj.com/content/86/Suppl_2/ii48.abstract?sid=fcfaeecc-767f-4db8-b644-77db5aa8db63). But, in the meantime, what advice should be given to HIV+ mothers in those low-resource settings where antiretrovirals are still not available? In this context, the […]