These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Problems of HIV infection for women in Africa.
    Author: Goethel W.
    Journal: IPPF Med Bull; 1988 Jun; 22(3):1-3. PubMed ID: 12342059.
    Abstract:
    Increasingly large numbers of babies in sub-Saharan African are born with congenital human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Attention is directed to the risk of vertical transmission, breast feeding and transmission of HIV infection, the risk of progression of HIV-related disease during pregnancy, contraception and HIV infection, counseling, congenital HIV infection, and management. In Africa, heterosexual sex is the primary route of spread of HIV, meaning the virus affects both sexes equally. Further, most HIV-seropositive women are in the sexually active and reproductive age group. The effect of HIV on the immature fetal immune system can be such that the infant does not make antibodies to HIV. Consequently, an infected infant can have negative HIV antibody tests. Viral antigen tests now are helpful in the diagnosis of congenital HIV infection but are costly and not widely available. This difficulty in serological diagnosis means that the frequency of transmission from HIV-infected mothers in their infants remains unknown. There have been 5 reports of apparent spread of HIV through breast feeding, yet it seems unlikely that breastfeeding plays a significant role in the spread of HIV infection. The claim that pregnancy triggers progression of disease in HIV positive women is based on only a series of case reports of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in pregnancy and an apparently high incidence of AIDS in women who had previously delivered an affected infant. The personal experience of HIV-infected women in sub-Saharan Africa, followed for an average of 2 years after delivery, suggests that pregnancy does not commonly accelerate progression of HIV-related disease, since most remain asymptomatic. Those infected with HIV need good contraceptive advice, and whatever contraceptive a woman chooses, it also should be recommended that condoms are used too whenever there is a risk of sexual spread of HIV infection. Women need current information about their condition, but counseling requires more than factual information. Affected women need and deserve advice and support from their doctor or health worker. Most infants with congenital HIV infection present before age 1. In many cases HIV infection is diagnosed in the 2nd year of life. HIV-infected children present with a wide variety of problems the most common of which are pneumonia and failure to thrive. Mothers need to be reassured that problems arising from HIV infection, such as rashes, dehydration, and chest infections can be treated even though there is no cure as yet for their child's underlying weakness.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]