Antenatal HIV

Lungiswa Nkonki, of the Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, South Africa, worked with colleagues from University of the Western Cape (UWC), Health Systems Trust and the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, USA, on the study.

The study's qualitative research with women who had participated in the public sector PMTCT programme revealed critical failures, not only in testing expectant mothers for HIV and giving them the results of the test, but also in a lack of intervention to help protect the unborn child from infection. A 50% reduction in transmission of HIV from mother to child is possible with the use of the drug, nevirapine, but this is not being administered routinely.

The research team interviewed 58 HIV-positive women in South Africa and collected detailed information about their experiences of antenatal care. They also investigated whether or not there were missed opportunities for participation in prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs.

Fifteen of the interviewees missed out on nevirapine, not because of the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, nor ignorance, but because of health systems failures, say the researchers. Of the 15 women, six women were not tested for HIV during antenatal care. Two who were tested received no results and seven were tested and received results but did not receive Nevirapine.

"Health Systems failures within these programme ranged from non-availability of counsellors, supplies such as HIV test kits, consent forms, health staff giving the women incorrect instructions about when to take the tablet and health staff not supplying the women with the tablet to take," the researchers say.

Nkonki and colleagues make two simple suggestions. First, HIV testing should be strengthened to enable access to preventative interventions. Secondly, a combination of two or three antiretroviral drugs starting during pregnancy and continuing for one week after delivery should replace the single dose regimen to improve uptake as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Source: BioMed Central

Women in India abused by husbands at far greater risk for HIV infection
India is home to the third-largest number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases in the world and, as in the U.S. and many African nations, the rate of infection among women continues to rise faster than that among men. In a new study, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have found that married Indian women who experienced physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their husbands were approximately four times more likely to become infected with HIV than married women who were not abused. This first large-scale, national study to examine the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) against wives and clinically verified HIV infection appears in the August 13, 2008 issue of JAMA.
Black girls who abuse alcohol less likely to use condoms
Black girls who abuse alcohol are more likely to have unprotected sex despite having participated in interventions that stressed the importance of consistent condom use.
New study finds HIV drug can persist in mothers' milk, increasing risk to them and their babies
A drug commonly used in the developing world to prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child persists in the breast milk and blood of the mothers, putting them and their babies at risk for developing drug-resistant strains of the virus, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Common vaginal infection may increase risk of HIV infection
A common vaginal infection may make women more susceptible to contracting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health researchers have found.
Deportation linked to higher risk of HIV infection in male injection drug users
Male injection drug users deported from the United States to Tijuana have four-fold higher odds of HIV infection compared to those living in Tijuana who were not deported there, according to a study to be presented at the International AIDS Conference on August 5, 2008 in Mexico City. The study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will be published in the July 30 issue of the Public Library of Science (PLoS) One.
Early cessation of breastfeeding by HIV+ women in poor countries and child survival
A new study by researchers from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health addresses one of the most challenging issues in infant health and preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission in poor countries. In these settings, HIV-infected mothers had been advised that for the best outcome for their infants, they should exclusively breast-feed, followed by a rapid weaning four to six months after birth.
Psychosocial issues affect HIV/AIDS treatment outcomes
Psychosocial influences such as stress, depression and trauma have been neglected in biomedical and treatment studies involving people infected with HIV, yet they are now known to have significant health impacts on such individuals and the spread of AIDS, according to a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientist.
Gender affects reaction to HIV-prevention materials
Various intervention strategies have been implemented to curb the rise of HIV, and a factor that might affect exposure to interventionsis gender. A new study in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology reviewed the behavior of participants exposed to various HIV brochures. Researchers found that both men and women were likely to avoid gender-mismatched brochures. Women, however, were more likely to approach gender-matched brochures over gender-neutral brochures.

Antenatal HIV

Related stories:

News discussion: