HIV Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about HIV, including details on human immunodeficiency virus, testing, treatment, prevention, vaccines, aids.

Reducing the risk of mother-to-child human immunodeficiency virus transmission: past successes, current progress and challenges, and future directions.

Fowler MG, Lampe MA, Jamieson DJ, Kourtis AP, Rogers MF

Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medical School, onsite Makerere University-Johns Hopkins University Research Collaboration, Kampala, Uganda. mgfowler@mujhu.org

Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States and Europe has been a tremendous success, such that transmission rates of less than 2% have been achieved. Some key successes have also been demonstrated in resource-poor countries; however, the translation of successful interventions into public health policy has been slow because of a variety of factors such as inadequate funding and cultural, social, and institutional barriers. The issue of HIV and infant feeding in settings that lack culturally acceptable, feasible, affordable, safe, and sustainable nutritional substitutes for breast milk is a continuing dilemma. An effective preventive infant HIV vaccine would be an optimal approach to reduce HIV acquisition in the first year of life among breast-feeding infants. The challenges to eliminate new perinatal HIV infections worldwide will depend on both sustaining and expanding PMTCT interventions and effective primary HIV prevention for women, adolescents, and young adults.

Published 10 September 2007 in Am J Obstet Gynecol, 197(3): S3-9.
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