Unmet needs of high-risk mothers reduce success of antiretroviral treatment in HIV-infected infants.
Mvo Z., Ntlantsana V., Bengu N., Millar J., Roider J., Bhoola R., Krishna M., Graza Y., Van Lobenstein J., Kapongo C., Kogielambal C., Sprenger K., Archary M., Ndung'u T., Goulder P.
In the era of effective prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, the same psychosocioeconomic factors that predispose to mother-to-child transmission also substantially increase the likelihood of antiretroviral therapy failure in infected infants. For HIV-infected infants to benefit from early infant diagnosis and treatment initiation, into which much funding and effort is now invested, it is vital that these unmet needs of high-risk mothers are urgently attended to. From an ongoing study of early infant diagnosis and treatment following in utero transmission in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, we describe four cases to highlight these challenges facing transmitting mothers that contribute to treatment failure in their infants.