Ambwani PN, Gilada IS, Karkare J, Changedia SM; International Conference on AIDS.

Int Conf AIDS. 1998; 12: 403 (abstract no. 23309).

Wadia Hosp., Bombay, India.

BACKGROUND: With the objectives of studying HIV prevalence among pregnant women and to prevent perinatal HIV transmission, this study was initiated in 1993, when HIV prevalence among women and perinatal transmission rates were unknown in India. METHODS: Women attending in a OPD of a Women's Hospital in Bombay were selected for study, after 'group counseling' and informed consent. HIV ELISA test were done by 'pooling' method. (Initial positives were reconfirmed with individual test). Seropositive women were encouraged to bring their spouses and provided 'individual' and 'couple' counseling and testing of the spouse. Post-test counseling included providing option of Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) for those with less than 20 weeks gestation, modified ACTG-O76 protocol for others and contraception to avoid any future pregnancies. Babies followed up quarterly and subjected to HIV test at 9 and 15 months. RESULTS: Among the women of mean age 23 years, graded middle class housewives, without any specific high risk behaviour and identical demographic profile, only 30/514 (6%) spouses were uninfected, 19 women were infected via blood transfusion and 11 via extra-marital sex. TABULAR DATA, SEE ABSTRACT VOLUME 26/616 women with less than 20 weeks of pregnancy, 15 opted for MTP; VDRL reactive 581/56,912 (1%) and 3.8% were dually infected with HIV and Syphilis. Two women, 19 spouses and 19 babies died out of the 307 women who followed up. 13 women opted for tubectomy, six went for second and 2 went for third pregnancy. Rest all opted for barrier contraception. Among 560 seropositive women delivered, 122/386 (31.6%) children have been found to be HIV infected at or after 15 months, in natural history follow-up. CONCLUSION: The largest, innovative, cost-efficient and replicable model of perinatal HIV intervention for busy hospital setting in Asia has emerged. Though HIV prevalence in pregnant women is high, it seems to be stabilising. Apart from set objectives, additional gains were: evolution of pool testing as cost-saving strategy, integrated HIV care for women, pediatric HIV/AIDS care and HIV prevention through ACTG-076 protocol. The study has been now extended to two other states.

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• Asia
• Child
• Counseling
• Disease Transmission, Vertical
• Female
• HIV Infections
• HIV Seropositivity
• Humans
• India
• Infant
• Pregnancy
• Prevalence
• Syphilis
• methods
• therapy
• transmission

Other ID:

• 98395339

UI: 102228939

From Meeting Abstracts