Perinatal transmission of HIV-1: lack of impact of maternal HIV infection on characteristics of livebirths and on neonatal mortality in Kigali, Rwanda.
We present the baseline results of a prospective cohort study on the perinatal transmission of HIV-1 in Kigali, Rwanda. HIV-1-antibody testing was offered to all women of urban origin delivering a live newborn at the maternity ward of the Centre Hospitalier de Kigali from November 1988 to June 1989; 218 newborns of 215 HIV-positive mothers were matched to 218 newborns of 216 HIV-negative mothers. The matching criteria were maternal age and parity. No differences in socioeconomic characteristics were observed between HIV-positive and HIV-negative women. HIV-positive mothers more frequently reported a history of at least one death of a previously born child (P less than 0.01) and a history of abortion (P less than 0.001). Most of the HIV-positive women were asymptomatic, but 72.4% of them had a CD4; CD8 ratio less than 1 versus 10.1% in the HIV-negative group (P less than 0.001). The frequency of signs and symptoms was not statistically different in the two groups, except for a history of herpes zoster or chronic cough, which was more frequent among HIV-positive women. The rates of prematurity, low birth weight, congenital malformations and neonatal mortality were comparable in the two groups. However, infants of HIV-positive mothers had a mean birth weight 130 g lower than the infants of HIV-negative mothers (P less than 0.01). The impact of maternal HIV-1 infection on the infant seems limited during the neonatal period.
Lepage
P
P
Department of Paediatrics, Centre Hospitalier de Kigali, Rwanda.
Dabis
F
F
Hitimana
D G
DG
Msellati
P
P
Van Goethem
C
C
Stevens
A M
AM
Nsengumuremyi
F
F
Bazubagira
A
A
Serufilira
A
A
De Clercq
A
A
D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D001724:Birth Weight; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000151:congenital / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D015497:HIV-1; D006562:Herpes Zoster / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012432:Rwanda / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors