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Mother-to-child transmission of HIV: pathogenesis, mechanisms and pathways

Athena P Kourtis1, Marc Bulterys

  • 1Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. apk3@cdc.gov

Clinics in Perinatology
|November 17, 2010
PubMed

More than 400,000 children were infected with (HIV-1) worldwide in 2008, or more than 1000 children per day. Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV-1 is the most important mode of HIV acquisition in infants and children. MTCT of HIV-1 can occur in utero, intrapartum, and postnatally through breastfeeding. Great progress has been made in preventing such transmission, through the use of antiretroviral prophylactic regimens to the mother during gestation and labor and delivery and to either mother or infant during breast feeding. The timing and mechanisms of transmission, however, are multifactorial and remain incompletely understood. This article summarizes what is known about the pathogenetic mechanisms and routes of MTCT of HIV-1, and includes virologic, immunologic, genetic, and mucosal aspects of transmission.

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