Robbing the cradle
Toomey, G.
Idrc Reports 18(2): 10
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0315-9981 PMID: 12342722 Document Number: 367715
Perinatal or vertical transmission, the transmission of HIV from mother to child, is common as the epidemic spreads in central Africa, but less so than epidemiologists had predicted. In Uganda about 10% of AIDS cases are due to vertical transmission; in Rwanda 35% of all AIDS cases were in children; in Kenya, however, only 30% of children of infected mothers developed AIDS. HIV can spread to a child via the placenta during pregnancy, the vagina during birth, or breast milk after delivery. Although there is evidence of all 3 routes of spread, the likelihood of transmission by breast milk is low, and WHO recommends that children be breast feed even if their mothers are HIV positive. It is difficult to test for transmission of HIV in newborns because the usual tests for HIV antibodies will pick up immunity passed from mother to child during pregnancy, which may last up to 12 months. Despite the fact that perinatal transmission of HIV was lower than expected, in a study in Uganda, infant mortality was high, 15% in children of HIV positive mothers, compared to 2% in controls. On the other hand, surviving children did respond effectively to childhood immunizations.