Unmet needs of high-risk mothers reduce success of antiretroviral treatment in HIV-infected infants.
S Afr Med J 2018;
108:609-610. [PMID:
30182873 DOI:
10.7196/samj.2018.v108i8.13376]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
In the era of effective prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, the same psychosocioeconomic factors that predispose to mother-to-child transmission also substantially increase the likelihood of antiretroviral therapy failure in infected infants. For HIV-infected infants to benefit from early infant diagnosis and treatment initiation, into which much funding and effort is now invested, it is vital that these unmet needs of high-risk mothers are urgently attended to. From an ongoing study of early infant diagnosis and treatment following in utero transmission in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, we describe four cases to highlight these challenges facing transmitting mothers that contribute to treatment failure in their infants.
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