Breastfeeding now safer for infants of HIV-infected mothersFebruary 05, 2008First solid evidence that viral transmission through breast milk can be prevented by a drug An antiretroviral drug already in widespread use in the developing world to prevent the transmission of HIV from infected mothers to their newborns during childbirth has also been found to substantially cut the risk of subsequent HIV transmission during breast-feeding. In a study presented Feb. 4 at the 2008 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston, an international team of AIDS experts reports that nevirapine given once daily to breast-feeding infants from 8 to 42 days old decreased by almost half the rate of HIV transmission via breast-feeding at 6 weeks of age. The decrease occurred in comparison to a single dose of nevirapine given to infants at birth, the current standard of care. At 6 months of age, the risk of postnatal HIV infection or death in infants who received the six-week regimen was almost one-third less than the risk for infants given only a single dose. The study was led by three teams of investigators at The Johns Hopkins University in collaboration with investigators in Ethiopia, India and Uganda.
Breast-feeding remains a leading route of HIV transmission in the developing world. The United Nations World Health Organization estimates that approximately 150,000 infants are infected through breast-feeding each year. In the United States each year, fewer than 150 newborns are infected with HIV at birth, mostly to mothers who did not know they were HIV positive. The study, conducted from 2001 to 2007 and involving approximately 2,000 infants, is one of the first randomized controlled trials to show that a drug can prevent HIV transmission to uninfected babies exposed to their infected mothers' breast milk. According to Johns Hopkins scientists, the results are highly significant because the low-dose regimen of nevirapine was able to reduce transmission or death in breast-feeding infants. They note that the extended-nevirapine regimen appears to be as safe as the single-dose regimen. The study is also significant, the scientists say, because it is the first to show that an antiretroviral drug can prevent HIV transmission through mucosal tissue. This finding has implications for the potential value of antiretroviral drugs for preventing sexual transmission of HIV. Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Related Breastfeeding Current Events and Breastfeeding News Articles Society's lack of food allergies impacts those afflicted with food allergies The level of knowledge and understanding of children with food allergies varies significantly across three key groups: pediatricians and family physicians, the general public and families who have a child with food allergies. The article describing the new findings was published in the September issue of BioMed Central Pediatrics. New study indicates link between weight gains during pregnancy and dieting history Women who have a history of dieting or other restricted eating practices are at risk of gaining an inappropriate amount of weight during pregnancy. Community-based behavior change management cuts neonatal mortality in half A community-based program that reinforces basic childbirth and newborn care practices can reduce a baby's risk of death within the first month of life by as much as 54 percent, according to a study in rural India led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in collaboration with CSM Medical University in Lucknow, India. Eating fish while pregnant, longer breastfeeding, lead to better infant development Both higher fish consumption and longer breastfeeding are linked to better physical and cognitive development in infants, according to a study of mothers and infants from Denmark. Maternal fish consumption and longer breastfeeding were independently beneficial. Hospitals provide formula sample packs while medical organizations encourage breastfeeding A majority of U.S. hospitals on the East coast distribute formula sample packs to new mothers, contrary to recommendations from most major medical organizations concerned about the potential for distributing these packs to reduce breastfeeding rates. Codeine not safe for all breastfeeding moms and their babies Using pain treatments which contain codeine may be risky for some breastfeeding mothers, according to researchers at The University of Western Ontario, and the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto. New research suggests diabetes transmitted from parents to children A new study in the September issue of the Journal of Lipid Research suggests an unusual form of inheritance may have a role in the rising rate of diabetes, especially in children and young adults, in the United States. New breastfeeding study shows most moms quit early While the CDC recently reported that more moms than ever give breastfeeding a try, a new national study shows most moms do not stick with it as long as they should. Men and women may need different diets: research Diet can strongly influence how long you live and your reproductive success, but now scientists have discovered that what works for males can be very different for females. Child care factors associated with weight gain in infancy Nine-month-old infants regularly cared for by someone other than a parent appear to have higher rates of unfavorable feeding practices and to weigh more than infants cared for only by parents, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. More Breastfeeding Current Events and Breastfeeding News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||