Research
FDA Approves Test to Distinguish Type of HIV Infection
The BioPlex 2200 HIV Ag-Ab assay has been approved by the FDA for use in distinguishing between HIV-1 antibodies, HIV-2 antibodies and the HIV-1 p24 antigen.This is approved for use in pregnant women and is another tool to aid in prevention of perinatal transmission.
Press Release
HIV Remission for Perinatally Infected Patient
A presentation at this year's International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention shared data on a patient who was diagnosed HIV-positive at 4 weeks of age, started on ART at 3 months of age (with a high viral load), and achieved an undetectable viral load…
Use of ART Prior to Conception Results in No Perinatal Transmission
Researchers with the French Perinatal Cohort (ANRS-EPF) determined that perinatal HIV transmission rate in their population was zero for women who were on ART prior to conception, continued throughout pregnancy and had an undetectable viral load at delivery. For women who started ART prior to…
HIV, Pregnancy and Mental Health
This literature review looked at the mental health variables from studies involving HIV-positive women both during pregnancy and postpartum. Globally, it was found that mental health issues, especially depression, are prevalent in HIV-positive women and can adversely affect their quality of life…
Infant HIV Testing and Experiences of Mothers
HIV-infected women are informed at/or prior to delivery that their infants will have to undergo serial testing to determine if they have contracted HIV. This process can bring up a variety of feelings and experiences for mothers, not limited to anxiety and guilt. In a series of…
Factors Contributing to High Rates of Perinatal HIV Transmission
Perinatal HIV has yet to be eliminated in the United States due to a number of factors. Researchers did a chart review to determine what factors contribute to higher rates of transmission. As might be expected, lack of prenatal care and limited to no use of antiretroviral therapy…
PrEP for HIV Prevention and Hormonal Contraceptive Use
The efficacy of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV-1 prevention has been demonstrated amongst serodiscordant couples. Researchers in this study wanted to determine that couples where the woman (whether HIV-negative or HIV-positive) used the hormonal contraceptive depot…
Very Early Treatment (VET) to Prevent Infant HIV
Researchers discuss the feasibility and limitations of very early treatment (VET) for infants perinatally infected with HIV-1, using the Mississippi child as the demonstration case. VET is highlighted as a possibility for HIV remission for the pediatric population and while not yet…
Perinatal Transmission Higher in Women with Incident HIV
A meta-analysis done by researchers in Washington found that the pooled perinatal transmission rate was 22.7% among pregnant and postpartum women worldwide with incident HIV, which is 2.8-fold higher than women with chronic HIV infection. This is significant for the prevention of perinatal…
"Mississippi Baby" Shows Detectable Levels of HIV
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the child known as the "Mississippi Baby" - an infant seemingly cured of HIV that was reported as a case study of a prolonged remission of HIV infection in The New England Journal of Medicine last fall—now has detectable…
Repeat Third Trimester HIV Testing Uptake
Acceptability and feasibility of third trimester repeat HIV testing was explored following two documented cases of HIV seroconversion during pregnancy. Researchers found that most women were amenable to repeat third trimester HIV testing with the acceptance rate at 97.1%. No women were identified…
Review of HIV Screening in Hospital Labor and Deliveries
In order to estimate prenatal HIV screening rates prior to and on admission to labor and delivery as well as review hospital policies around these practices, researchers conducted a survey of hospitals and maternal/infant medical records in 2006. At that time, only 36% of hospitals had a…
Challenges Towards Elimination of Perinatal HIV in the US
Although perinatal HIV transmission is nearly zero in many groups throughout the United States, there are still those groups that are seeing consistently high rates of transmission. Researchers looked at HIV-exposed infants referred for follow-up care over a seven year period and found…
Revised HIV Surveillance Case Definition
The CDC and The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists have revised and combined the surveillance case definitions for HIV infection into a single case definition for persons of all ages and includes the most recent laboratory criteria and multitest algorithms. Further information…
Using Financial Incentives to Motivate Perinatally-Infected Youth to Adhere to Medications
Past research has shown that financial incentives are effective in improving adherence to medication regimines. Researchers tested this technique with adolescents who were perinatally-infected with HIV and have had poor adherence in the past. The pilot project showed that financial…
New HIV Testing Algorithm and Detection of Acute HIV
The MMWR reported in its June 21, 2013 issue about a new testing algorithm evaluated in an ED and other sites to determine effectiveness of HIV detection, especially in cases of acute HIV infection. Whereas traditional testing algorithms may miss cases of acute HIV due to …
Rapid Point-of-Care HIV Tests versus Lab Tests
Researchers looked at the varied performace of rapid point-of-care HIV tests versus traditional laboratory testing in detecting both new/acute and established HIV infections. While some rapid tests were found to perform well, oral fluid rapid tests were found to have less accuracy in…
Cured Infant Remains HIV-Free
The infant born HIV-positive in Mississippi and started on ART at 30 hours of age continues to show no sign of HIV-1 infection at 30 months of age. The infant received ART for 18 months after birth. This case shows the potential for early ART initiation to effect the long-term prognosis of HIV-1 in…
Women with HIV and High Rates of Intimate Partner Violence
Women have a higher risk of HIV infection when affected by intimate partner violence. In addition, high rates of intimate partner violence amongst HIV-positive women have been linked to poorer health outcomes, including less engagement in HIV care. Providers should work with these…
Perinatal HIV Elimination in High Resource Settings
While much of the focus on elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV has been in low resource settings, there is still work to be done in high resource settings. As women are living longer with the help of ART, more HIV-positive women are having children. Providers need to ensure proper…
Use of Fourth-Generation Rapid HIV Tests for Diagnosis in Children
Fourth-generation HIV rapid tests have been shown not to be effective in diagnosing HIV in infants with a p24 antigen specificity of <2%. Although sample sizes were small, researchers do not feel they can recommend the use of the 4th generation rapid tests for diagnosis of…
HIV Status Disclosure and Pregnancy
Often disclosure of HIV status is studied as a dichotomous variable - either yes, disclosed or no, did not disclose. In wanting to learning more about the process and barriers to disclosure, researchers underwent a qualitative analysis of the experience of disclosure of women who were…
Risks of Mother-to-Child Transmission from Non-Disclosure of HIV Status
Researchers from the French Perinatal Cohort study found that women who did not disclose their HIV-positive status to their partners during pregnancy had a less than optimal experience with perinatal HIV prevention. Although disclosure status did not result in additional perinatal…
Premastication and Perinatal HIV Transmission
As premastication of food for infants has been shown to result in HIV transmission, researchers studied late diagnoses of pediatric HIV to determine if premastication occurred in any of these cases. It was more of a common practice than realized among HIV-positive caregivers. Providers and others…
PrEP and Timed Intercourse for HIV Serodiscordant Couples
Researchers found that in 53 cases where the HIV-positive partner was virally supressed, the use of PrEP and timed intercourse was successful in achieving pregnancy at a rate of 75%. This research suggests further studies are needed in resource limited areas to determine other ways to achieve…