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13th Annual Conference of the British HIV Association29 March–1 April 2007, Brighton, UK |
HIGH PREVALENCE OF HIV-1 IN WOMEN WHO TERMINATE THEIR PREGNANCIES: DATA FROM AN UNLINKED ANONYMOUS STUDY
HIV Med 2007 Mar 29-Apr 1 (Suppl 1);13: (abstract no. O4)
Alicia Thornton1, Louise Logan1, John Parry1, Pat Tookey2 and Fortune Ncube1
1Health Protection Agency, London, UK, 2Institute of Child Health, London, UK
AIM/OBJECTIVE: To describe patterns of HIV infection in a sample of women who terminate their pregnancies at selected sentinel clinics in London and to compare these data to those from other surveys of pregnant women.
METHODS: Residual blood from pregnant women and newborn babies, taken for routine medical procedures, is unlinked from all patient identifiable information and tested for HIV-1 infection. The age group of the women and units attended are retained for analysis.
RESULTS: The prevalence of HIV-1 in this sample of women undergoing TOP in London has increased from 0.64% in 1996 to 1.01% in 2005. The prevalence among women attending these centres for antenatal care was 0.62% in 2004 and the prevalence was 0.44% in women giving birth in the same geographic area in 2005. HIV prevalence in women terminating their pregnancies was highest in the 30–34 year olds and in those giving birth in the same region it was highest in 20–25 year olds. From 2000–2005, 82% of HIV-positive women undergoing TOP in the sentinel centres, and reported to the National Study of HIV in Pregnancy and Childhood, were Black African. This compares with 83% of women giving birth in London.
CONCLUSION/DISCUSSION: The prevalence of HIV infection in this sample of women undergoing TOP is more than double that in women giving birth. This is a public health concern. TOP services may represent a good opportunity for health promotion and voluntary counselling and testing for HIV. However, these prevalence estimates relate to women undergoing TOP only in selected NHS units and thus the generalization of these findings to women undergoing TOP in other settings remains unclear.
2007-03-29
O4
Copyright © 2007 - British HIV Association (BHIVA) Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the BHIVA Organising Secretariat 1 Mountview Court, 310 Friern Barnet Lane, London N20 0LD