Antiretroviral drugs during breastfeeding for the prevention of postnatal transmission of HIV-1

Abstract

The global pediatric human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 epidemic is fueled to a large extent by postnatal transmission from mother to infant through breastfeeding. As many as 90% of the estimated 430,000 new HIV infections in children less than 15 years of age in 2008 were due to mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) [1]. MTCT can occur in utero, intrapartum, or postpartum through breastfeeding; among children with known timing of infection, as much as 30-40% of MTCT of HIV-1 is attributable to breastfeeding; this proportion may be even higher in settings where effective interventions that decrease in utero and intrapartum transmission are being implemented [2-4]. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York.