Study examines safer breast-feeding by mothers with HIV.

2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New research has raised the possibility of safer breast-feeding by HIV positive mothers in the developing world.

Programs aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV in poor countries only treat mothers during pregnancy and up to a week after childbirth. Babies are often given a single dose of an anti-HIV drug at birth. That halves the risk of the babies getting HIV, but many of those gains are lost when the infants later contract the virus through breast-feeding.

Experts say findings presented July 15, 2003, at the biggest AIDS research conference of the year indicate giving babies a daily antiretroviral drug from birth through the entire breast-feeding period could significantly reduce the rate of HIV infection through breast milk.

Women with HIV in developed countries are advised not to breast-feed, even though doctors believe potent drug combinations can drastically reduce the risk of spreading the disease from mother to baby. However, specialists say persuading mothers in poor countries not to breast-feed is impractical; they can't afford or find infant formula and women who do not breast-feed are stigmatized because such unusual behavior raises suspicions of HIV infection.

In the study, conducted in Uganda and Rwanda, 397 infants were given syrup containing one of two common AIDS drugs daily for up to 6 months. Only 1% of the babies contracted HIV through breast milk. That compares to a rate of about 15% when babies do not receive such treatment, according to lead researcher Dr. Joep Lange of the University of Amsterdam Academic Medical Center, Netherlands.

The study is the first to demonstrate that giving babies antiretroviral medications for up to 6 months can prevent them from contracting HIV from their mothers through breast ...