title: Efficacy of strategies to reduce mother-to-child HIV-1 transmission in Argentina, 1993-2000.
abstract: This study evaluated the success of a national program for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV-1 in 874 mother-infant pairs from Buenos Aires and surroundings. This population was referred to the National Reference Center for AIDS for diagnosis of neonatal infection during 1993-2000. The data revealed an increase in the use of antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy from 3.2% in 1993-1994 to 73.1% in 1999-2000 and in the use of cesarean delivery (reaching 54.8% in 1999-2000). However, the proportion of HIV-infected women who continued to breast-feed their children remained steady (around 12%). General improvement of the conditions for decreasing MTCT resulted in a significant decrease in the proportion of infected infants from 37.3% before 1995 to 10.7% in 1999-2000 and even 6.5% during 2001. Data on the time of diagnosis indicated that only 42.7% of the women knew about their HIV status before pregnancy, 44.8 knew during pregnancy, and 12.3% knew after the birth of their child. The main risk factor for HIV infection in the mothers was heterosexual contact (73%), and in the fathers, it was injection drug use (67%). These results point out the urgent need to develop additional strategies for prevention of MTCT of HIV-1 to generalize education, counseling, and testing of young women.
authors.affiliation: National Reference Center for AIDS, Department of Microbiology, University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine, Buenos Aires, Argentina. aceballo@fmed.uba.ar
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ceballos
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Los Angeles Pando
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liberatore
authors.forename: Mirna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Biglione
authors.forename: Patricia Coll
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Cárdenas
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: María Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Celadilla
authors.forename: María M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Avila
authors.forename: Liliana Martínez
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Peralta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001118:Argentina; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission*; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents