HIV Treatment Cuts Mom to Baby Transmission Risk

A review of data from more than 5,000 pregnancies in the UK and Ireland has found that the infection rate for babies born to HIV positive mothers taking measures to prevent transmission is only 1.2%. Before effective drug treatments became readily available, the transmission rate was considerably higher at more than 20%. Women treated with antiretroviral (ART) drugs for at least 14 days prior to delivery rarely pass on the virus to their babies; the transmission rate among these women is less than 1%. Unfortunately, access to ART drugs is limited in developing countries, and as a result, approximately 1,800 babies are born with HIV each day.