Saturday 6 August 2011

A NEW PROSPECTIVE STUDY ON AIDS REVEALS' PREGNANCY IS INCREASING THE RISKS OF FEMALE-TO-MALE HIV TRANSMISSION

A NEW PROSPECTIVE STUDY ON AIDS HAS REVEALED THAT PREGNANCY IS INCREASING THE RISKS OF FEMALE-TO-MALE HIV TRANSMISSION TWO-FOLD.
THE NEW STUDY WAS CARRIED AMONG OVER 3300 SERO-DISCORDANT COUPLES IN THE SEVEN AFRICAN COUNTRIES.
ACCORDING TO A REPORT BY NELLY R. MUGO AND COLLEAGUES IN A PROSPECTIVE STUDY PUBLISHED IN THE ADVANCE ONLINE EDITION OF AIDS, THE RISKS OF BECOMING INFECTED WITH HIV DURING PREGNANCY INCREASED AT THE SAME RATE.
HOWEVER, THIS WAS PARTLY EXPLAINED BY OTHER FACTORS INCLUDING UNPROTECTED SEX.
THE REPORT SAYS WOMEN NOW ACCOUNT FOR 60 PERCENT OF HIV INFECTIONS IN ADULTS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AND MANY AFRICAN COUNTRIES WITH HIGH HIV PREVALENCE ALSO HAVE HIGH FERTILITY RATES AND OFTEN WOMEN ARE PREGNANT FOR A CONSIDERABLE PART OF THEIR ADULT LIVES.
THE PROSPECTIVE STUDY SAYS PREGNANCY BRINGS BIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL CHANGES THAT MAY MAKE A WOMAN MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO GETTING HIV AS WELL AS MAKING HER MORE INFECTIOUS, SO INCREASING THE RISKS OF TRANSMISSION.
TO DATE LIMITED PROSPECTIVE STUDIES HAVE FOUND INCONSISTENT RESULTS, SHOWING BOTH AN INCREASED RISK AND NO ELEVATED RISK OF ACQUIRING HIV DURING PREGNANCY.
HOWEVER, EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT WOMEN INFECTED DURING THEIR PREGNANCY HAVE A HIGH RATE OF HIV TRANSMISSION TO THEIR INFANTS.
THE AUTHORS NOTE ONE STUDY WHICH SHOWED INCREASED HIV SHEDDING IN GENITAL SECRETIONS DURING PREGNANCY, SUGGESTING INCREASED INFECTIOUSNESS, YET NO PROSPECTIVE STUDY HAS LOOKED SPECIFICALLY AT PREGNANCY AS A RISK FACTOR FOR FEMALE-TO-MALE TRANSMISSION.
THE AUTHORS CHOSE TO LOOK AT THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PREGNANCY AND THE RISKS OF GETTING HIV AS WELL AS THE RISKS OF TRANSMITTING HIV FROM FEMALES-TO-MALES IN A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF A PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF AFRICAN HIV SERO-DISCORDANT COUPLES

PUBLISHED BY AUGUSTINE

No comments:

Post a Comment