Mother-to-Child Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1

The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated that in the year 2005 there were an additional 700,000 new infections in children, who have been infected through mother-to-child transmission (MTCT). MTCT of HIV-1 accounts for a few hundred infected newborns only in those countries where services for large cover of voluntary counseling and testing of pregnant women and supply of antiretroviral drugs throughout pregnancy with elective Cesarian section and avoidance of breastfeeding are fully established. Intrapartum transmission contributes to approximately 20-25% of infected children, whereas in utero transmission to 5-10% and postnatal transmission to additional 10-15% of cases. The single-dose nevirapine (NVP) regimen has provided the momentum to start MTCT programs in many resource-limited countries; however, regimens using a combination of antiretroviral drugs may be more effective in reducing MTCT rates and limiting resistant mutation development.