HIV replication during the first weeks of life.
Diagnosis of HIV infection among children born to HIV-positive mothers can be made in the first 12 months, but few studies have examined HIV status during the first weeks of life. In a prospective longitudinal study of 50 infants born to HIV-1 seropositive women, blood samples were obtained at birth and at 4-9 weeks and 5-9 months of age, and were tested for HIV-1 by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), viral culture, and p24 antigen measurements. 16 were diagnosed as HIV-infected by the age of 4-9 weeks according to both PCR and culture; by contrast, infection could be detected in only 5 children at birth. No changes in HIV status were observed between 4-9 weeks and 5-9 months in the 44 children who could be retested. Perinatal HIV-1 infection can therefore be diagnosed in the first 2 months of life, either by PCR or viral culture. Our inability to detect HIV-1 infection at birth in almost 70% of babies subsequently found infected suggests an active replication of HIV during the first weeks of life. Our results might favour the hypothesis that transmission of HIV-1 takes place either at the end of pregnancy or at delivery.
Department of Virology, Hôpital Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, University Paris V, France.
A
A
Krivine
G
G
Firtion
L
L
Cao
C
C
Francoual
R
R
Henrion
P
P
Lebon
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission*; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24 / Q000032:analysis; D006679:HIV Seropositivity; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D014779:Virus Replication
D016655:HIV Core Protein p24; D012367:RNA, Viral