Preventing Perinatal HIV Transmission
- John Sever, MD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
To the Editor. —The article by Drs Simonds and Rogers1 is yet another example of the value of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) therapy in pregnancy. Unfortunately, a significant percentage of women in this country do not know that they are HIV-positive and, thus, the chance to reduce transmission to their infant is lost. We have enrolled 25 HIV-positive pregnant women into various treatment studies such as AIDS [acquired immunodeficiency syndrome] Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) protocol 185 for the last year. To our discomfort and horror, 9 of these patients first became aware of their HIV status by having a prior child admitted to the Children's National Medical Center with an AIDS-defining illness. Six of these children died. Like the canaries carried by coal miners in the previous century whose death would portend the presence of lethal gases, these children are the unfortunate sentinels of undiagnosed HIV infection.
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Footnotes
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Edited by Margaret A. Winker, MD, Senior Editor, and Phil B. Fontanarosa, MD, Senior Editor.
