HIV Activists Fault South African Mother-Child Transmission Guidelines
In response to new South African treatment guidelines for the prevention of mother–child HIV transmission, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), an HIV/AIDS lobby group, has said that although the guidelines contain improvements, they fall short of World Health Organization recommendations, according to the South African financial daily newspaper Business Day/AllAfrica.com (allafrica.com, 1/31).
The guidelines were issued on January 25. They advise that all HIV-positive pregnant women be treated with two HIV drugs: AZT from the 28th week of pregnancy, and nevirapine during labor. Infants of HIV-positive mothers are recommended to receive a dose of nevirapine syrup and seven days of AZT. The guidelines also recommend that all pregnant women be tested for HIV and that all babies of HIV-positive mothers be screened for the virus at 6 weeks and 18 months.
The new guidelines do not, however, change the threshold for when expectant mothers should start long-term therapy. They say that mothers should be treated when their CD4 count falls below 200, as opposed to 350, the level that many AIDS activists are calling for.
The TAC said that post-delivery, HIV-positive women should be given a week of AZT and lamivudine, known as the “cover-the-tail strategy,” in order to decrease nevirapine resistance. It also expressed disappoint at the decision not to change the threshold for initiating antiretroviral therapy.
NEW! Scroll down to comment on this story.
Please click OK to confirm your comment and confirm you accept our posting rules. Note your message will be reviewed by our staff before going live.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
Woman of the Month is supported by exclusive advertising from Gilead.
Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
