Antenatal screening for HIV: time to embrace change.
In August 1999 the Government set a national objective of reducing the numbers of children acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection from their mothers by 80%. The key policy change towards achieving this objective was that HIV testing was to be recommended as a routine and integral part of antenatal care. The UK has fallen behind other Western industrialized countries in the uptake of antenatal testing and reduction in mother-to-child transmission. This article examines the background to these new recommendations, the substantial benefits of available interventions and the reasons why current testing policies have been failing.
Sexual Health and HIV Department, Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton Health Care Trust.
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D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D006291:Health Policy; D006292:Health Priorities; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / Q000517:prevention & control; D008131:London / Q000453:epidemiology; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology