Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - 26 Sep 1995
Two thirds of these, they noted, could have been prevented if their mothers had taken the drug AZT during pregnancy.
"What it really says to me is that there is a continuing problem with HIV infection in children," said Dr. Susan F. Davis of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
More than 15,000 babies were born with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, between 1978 and 1993, Davis and her team reported in Wednesday's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Twelve thousand of those children were still alive at the beginning of 1994, all needing medical and social care, and many destined for foster care because their mothers will die of AIDS, Davis and her team said.
In 1993, about 6,530 HIV-infected women gave birth in the United States, and about 25 percent passed the disease to their babies, producing 1,630 HIV-infected newborns that year, the researchers said.
That's fewer than in 1992 -- when 1,750 infected infants were born. In 1991, 1,760 were born. In 1990, 1,690 were born. And in 1989, 1,590 were born.
The reason for the leveling off after 1989 is unknown. Researchers said it's possible that fewer women of childbearing age are being infected with HIV, or that infected women are less fertile or are having more abortions.
The researchers noted that a recent study showed treating infected women during pregnancy and their newborns afterward with the drug zidovudine, also known as AZT, reduced the rate of mother-to-child transmission by two-thirds.
They also called attention to recently issued CDC guidelines urging that all pregnant women receive HIV testing and counseling so that treatment can be started when necessary and newborn infections averted.
Dr. John L. Sullivan, who studies newborn AIDS as a pediatrics professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, said the research is consistent with trends in his state.
"We know that a majority of (infected) women are not getting access (to treatment) because they don't know they're HIV infected, and that's because they haven't been offered HIV testing," said Sullivan, who was not involved in the CDC study.
Sullivan supports mandatory screening and also a resumption of the CDC's nationwide data-gathering effort to track the infection rate among newborns. The agency suspended the tests, which were done anonymously and without consent, this spring after mothers protested that they weren't told their babies were HIV positive until after they became sick.
"I think it's incredibly important that it continue," Sullivan said. "It's the only way we're going to find out if we're doing our job."
Davis said the possibility of resuming the testing newborns is being debated within the CDC and she doesn't know when or if the statistical sampling would resume.
Copyright 1995/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
950926
AP950919
Copyright © 1995 - Associated Press. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the AP Permissions Desk.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1995. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 1995. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .