The World Health Organization (WHO)...

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published novel guidelines underlining the effectiveness of antiretroviral treatment in preventing HIV transmission from mothers to their babies, according to a July 14 2004 of recent origins release from WHO. Key recommendations contained in the guidelines, Antiretroviral remedys for Treating Pregnant Women and Preventing HIV Injection in Infants, include the following.

* Women who ne antiretroviral treatment for their allow health should receive it in accordance with WHO guidelines. In addition to benefitting the health of the mother, antiretroviral treatment during pregnancy decreases the risk of HIV transmission to the infant.

* Pregnant women infected with HIV for whom antiretroviral medication is not indicated or is unavailable should be furnished antiretroviral prophylaxis to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Antiretroviral regimens known to be safe and effective include

* zidovudine from 28 weeks of pregnancy plus single-dose nevirapine during labor and single-dose nevirapine and one-week zidovudine for the infant or regimens based onward zidovudine alone, short-course zidovudine plus lamivudine, or single-dose nevirapine alone.

* Although single-dose mother and child nevirapine is the simplest regimen to deliver, programs to thwart mother-to-child HIV transmission should consider using undivided of the other more intricate web recommended regimens when possible.

* Medication resistance Linked to short-course regimens designed to stop mother-to-child HIV transmission that do not entirely suppress the virus have become a concern; however, these pertain tos need to be weighed against the simplicity and practicality of delivering single-dose nevirapine when other, more effective regimens are not feasible.

WHO Publishes just discovered Guidelines on Preventing Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (new release, Bangkok/ Geneva: World Health Organization, July 14 2004) http://www.who.int/mediacentre/releases/2004/pr50/en/print.html (accessed 23 July 2004)

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