Maternal age, infant age, feeding options, single/multiple pregnancy, type of twin sets and mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

BACKGROUND

Some risk factors for mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV have been identified. To further reduce MTCT, other risk factors were evaluated.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A retrospective study on early infant diagnosis was conducted. Two-sided chi-square test was used to assess associations with infant HIV status.

RESULTS

A total of 15 233 HIV-infected mothers and 15 404 infants were recruited. MTCT rate was 9.34%. Only 3.8% of infants born to mothers on antiretroviral treatment were infected. Under nevirapine, 4.1% of infants were infected. MTCT increased with infant' age at testing. Younger mothers tend to transmit more HIV (P = 0.003). More children were infected in single pregnancies compared with multiple pregnancies, P < 0.001. There were more infections in male-female twins' sets (P = 0.037).

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal age, type of pregnancy and twins' sets are new MTCT risk factors. Strategies to further decrease transmission through family planning, pre/post natal consultations and clinical practices are needed.