HIV/AIDS: Experts Recommend Broader Use of Anti-Retrovirals
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Source: http://www.unfoundation.org/unwire/unwire.cfm#3
Anti-retroviral drugs that prevent mother-to-child transmission of
HIV are safe and effective enough to become standard treatment, ac-
cording to a World Health Organization consultation group.
At a meeting in Geneva earlier this month, the experts recommended
that the drugs, which have so far been limited mostly to pilot pro-
jects and research settings, should be included in the minimum stan-
dard package of care for HIV-positive women and their children.
"There is no justification to restrict use of any of these regimens
to pilot project or research settings," the researchers concluded.
"We welcome these new recommendations, particularly those relating to
the use of nevirapine," said Dr. Awa-Marie Coll-Seck, director of
policy, strategy and research for the Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS
(UNAIDS). "It is my sincere hope that more women will now have access
to mother-to-child prevention programs in developing countries."
The safety of preventive treatments including zidovudine, zidovudine
combined with lamivudine, and nevirapine has been studied exten-
sively, and information currently available does not suggest any ad-
verse effects on the mother's health or the infant's growth, UNAIDS
said.
Previous recommendations in March had suggested that nevirapine only
be used in pilot and research projects because of potential concerns
about the development of nevirapine-resistant virus in women using
it. Experts have now concluded that the benefits of the anti-
retrovirals outweigh any theoretical concerns about drug resistance
(UNAIDS release, 25 Oct).
According to the WHO, more than 90% of the more than 600,000 infants
infected with HIV/AIDS annually receive the virus through mother-to-
child transmission (UN Newservice, 25 Oct).
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