The effects of placental malaria on mother-to-child HIV transmission in Rakai, Uganda.
We examined the association of placental malaria and mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV in a prospective community-randomized trial in Rakai District, Uganda. In the 746 HIV-positive mother-infant pairs, the MTCT rate was 20.4%. Placental malaria was more common in HIV-positive than HIV-negative women. After multivariate adjustment for HIV viral load, the risk of MTCT associated with placental malaria was 2.89 and with HIV viral load the risk was 2.85. Interventions to prevent malaria during pregnancy could potentially reduce MTCT.
Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Heena
H
Brahmbhatt
Godfrey
G
Kigozi
Fred
F
Wabwire-Mangen
David
D
Serwadda
Nelson
N
Sewankambo
Tom
T
Lutalo
Maria J
MJ
Wawer
Carlos
C
Abramowsky
David
D
Sullivan
Ronald
R
Gray
D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005260:Female; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D008288:Malaria / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010922:Placenta Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014454:Uganda / Q000453:epidemiology; D019562:Viral Load