Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Associated Press (07.05.05) - Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Jennifer C. Yates
HIV-infected pregnant women can take combination drug therapy, have Caesarean sections, and avoid breastfeeding to reduce to as low as 1 percent their risk of transmitting HIV to the babies. Without intervention, there is a one-in-four chance an HIV-positive mother's infant will become infected.
The new recommendation follows a 2001 CDC directive that emphasized HIV testing "as a routine part of prenatal care and strengthened the recommendation that all pregnant women be tested for HIV," said agency spokesperson Jessica Frickey.
Women account for about 27 percent of the estimated 40,000 Americans who become HIV-infected each year. Already, many pregnant women are offered the test but decline to take it. Dr. Diana Petitti, the vice-chairperson of the task force and a scientific adviser for health policy and medicine at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, said women need to understand that new HIV tests are nearly 100 percent accurate, and there is no shame in admitting that one might be at risk. As testing becomes more universal, the stigma associated with testing will decline, said Sharon Hillier, professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
The task force reiterated its recommendation that adolescents and adults at increased risk be tested, and it expanded its definition of "high risk" to include persons getting care at homeless shelters or STD clinics. The full report, "Screening for HIV: Recommendation Statement," was published in Annals of Internal Medicine (2005;143(1):32-37).
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