Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - Tuesday, December 15, 1998
The child's parents, Kathleen and David Tyson, say they are opposed to the treatment because of concerns about possible side effects and because it could take up to a year to determine whether the virus was passed on to the child.
The Oregon State Services to Children and Families (SCF) was awarded temporary custody of 1-week-old Felix Tyson after Judge Pierre VanRysselberge issued the court order last Friday, but the child remains in the custody of its parents until a hearing in about two months.
The case came to the attention of SCF through Dr. Lauren Herbert, a pediatric infectious disease specialist who said she became concerned when the mother wanted to breast-feed the child.
Herbert says the transmission rate of HIV from a mother to child through breast-feeding is about 10 to 20 percent.
Kathleen Tyson reportedly does not know how she contracted the virus and maintains that she shows no symptoms and has been healthy for 10 years.
Dave McGory, the SCF official appointed to the case, said that sometime during her pregnancy, Tyson stopped taking medication to reduce the chances of transmitting the virus to her son at birth.
The child, born Dec. 7, was administered his first AZT treatment on Wednesday, prior to the court order.
The Tysons have not announced whether they will fight the court order.
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