Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - Wednesday, November 11, 1998
AZT is already the standard medicine to prevent maternal transmission of the AIDS virus. Typically, doctors give the medicine to mothers during their last 14 weeks of pregnancy as well as to babies for six weeks after birth.
However, sometimes the full course of treatment cannot be given, often because HIV-infected women do not seek prenatal care. So doctors at the New York State Department of Health in Albany reviewed medical records to see what happened when AZT was started late.
They found that even the shorter treatment cuts the risk substantially. Even if treatment began only at birth, this reduced the chance of catching the virus by two-thirds.
The study, directed by Dr. Nancy A. Wade, was published in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Similar to other studies, this one found a 27 percent risk that HIV-infected mothers would pass the virus to their babies if no AZT was given. The study found that the risk was:
--6 percent if treatment was started before birth.
--9 percent when started within the first two days of life.
--18 percent if started after three days of life.
An editorial by Dr. Kenneth McIntosh of Children's Hospital in Boston said the results "add weight to the argument that HIV infection can be prevented after exposure."
The researchers said they still recommend that the full course AZT be given when possible.
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