HIV-1-mother-to-child transmission and associated characteristics in a public maternity unit in Presidente Prudente, Brazil

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: Luiz Euribel Prestes-Carneiro, Patrícia Rodrigues Naufal Spir, Armênio Alcântara Ribeiro, Vera Lúcia Maria Alves Gonçalves
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2012
• Subjects: Brazil; HIV-1; MTCT; Characteristics; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46652012000100005; https://doaj.org/article/69f7c418ac7b402ba06e93a59bfa2902

In children, vertical transmission is the main form of HIV infection. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of HIV-1 vertical transmission in mother-infant pairs in a public maternity ward in Presidente Prudente, SP. Additionally; we sought to identify characteristics associated with this form of transmission. The files of 86 HIV-1-infected mothers and their newborns referred to a Public Hospital from March 2002 to March 2007 were analyzed. The HIV-1-RNA viral load of the newborns was determined by bDNA. The HIV-1 vertical-transmission rate was 4.6%. Children that were born in the pre-term period and breastfed were at a higher risk of HIV-1 infection (p = 0.005 and p = 0.017 respectively) than children born at term and not breastfed. Prophylactic therapy with zidovudine after birth for newborns was associated with a lower risk of infection (p = 0.003). The number of newborns weighing < 2,500 g was significantly higher for infected children (p = 0.008) than for non-infected newborns. About 22.9% of mothers did not know the HIV-1 status of their newborns eight months after delivery. The study suggests that it is necessary to increase the identification of HIV-1 infection in pregnant women and their newborns as well as to offer and explain the benefits of ARV prophylaxis.