Prevention on parent to child transmission of HIV - what is new?

Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV has been at the forefront of research in the field of HIV/AIDS since the PACTG 076 proved successful in 1994. This was followed by many trials with single, dual, or triple Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART), with or without breast-feeding, with different modes of delivery. These trials aimed and promised to find a relatively simple, low-cost intervention that could virtually eliminate the risk of HIV transmission from mother to child, cutting across all geographic boundaries. However, translation of the findings from most of these research studies into successful national PMTCT programs and health policies has not been optimal. In the west, parent to child transmission of HIV has been virtually eliminated due to universal coverage, screening, planned conception wherever possible, thorough evaluation and appropriate antenatal, intranatal and postnatal interventions. In contrast, in resource limited settings where the magnitude of the problem is the greatest accounting for more than 95 % of all vertical transmissions of HIV, there is a constant struggle dealing with the birth of an infected infant every minute. It is time to make optimal choices to prevent the transmission of HIV from an infected mother to her child and virtually eliminate this largely preventable scourge in children.