Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia - Thursday October 9, 2003
Doctors at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland found that giving two drugs, nevirapine and AZT, to babies of HIV-positive mothers after birth was 36 percent effective in blocking transmission of the virus.
"In this study, we've shown that exposure after birth to prophylaxis with nevirapine and AZT can reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV," said Dr Taha El Tahir Taha who headed the research team.
Treatment is usually given to women during pregnancy and to the infants after the birth to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus.
But in sub-Saharan Africa, many women arrive at medical clinics or hospitals just a few hours before they give birth and their HIV status may not be known.
"These factors limit the use of nevirapine before delivery. Another approach to prevent transmission of the disease is clearly necessary," said Taha, who reported the findings in The Lancet medical journal.
Nevirapine, which is made by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals and zidovudine, which is produced by drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline under the brand name AZT, have been shown to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV in breastfeeding women in Africa.
Taha and his colleagues compared the effects of nevirapine alone, and in combination with zidovudine on 1,119 babies of HIV-positive women in Malawi. All the women had arrived at the medical facility shortly before giving birth.
The babies were tested for HIV at birth and several weeks later. Seven percent of babies who had not been infected at birth and were given combination therapy were HIV positive when they were tested again at six-eight weeks old, compared to 12.1 percent who had been given only nevirapine.
Taha said giving the drug combination is easy and offers a way of preventing transmission of the virus to babies of women who missed the opportunity to be tested and counselled before or during pregnancy.
"With these new, promising results, we believe that alternative drugs may also be used as safety data become available," said Taha.
"These regimens could also be extended to prevent transmission of HIV through breast milk," he added.
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