The use of a drug, Zidovidine, on HIV positive women during the entire phase of their pregnancy, has led to a reduction in the transmission rate from mother-to-child by 20 per cent. This was the finding after the Freedom Foundation in Hyderabad took up a programme of Prevention of Parent-to-Child Transmission (PPTCT) of HIV, in tandem, with the Fernandez Maternity Hospital and the Vijay Marie Hospital since October last. The programme has been funded by the Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation, USA.
According to Karl Sequeira, Executive Trustee, Freedom Foundation, in all they had performed spot or rapid tests on 5,598 pregnant women. Fifty-eight of the women tested positive for HIV and they were put on Zidovidine from the 16th week of pregnancy.
Of the total 58 HIV positive pregnant women, 34 had delivered so far. The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests on the infants had revealed only five of them testing HIV positive. This means that only 13 to 15 per cent children delivered by HIV positive women who were given Zidovidine tested positive. Without medication at least 35-40 per cent of the kids would have tested positive, Sequeira said.
The ramifications of the usage of Zidovidine do appear to augur well. Medical experts agree that Zidovidine helps lower the 'viral load' during the pregnancy phase. While women are administered the drug in tablet form from the 16th week of pregnancy, children are started on the drug in syrup form the first week.
The Elizabeth Glaser Foundation funds Freedom Foundation to the tune of Rs 40 lakh in the first year of the programme. It also funds similar projects in Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore and Pune. Each rapid test costs about Rs 500, while a PCR comes to about Rs 2,000.
The Freedom Foundation was initially started as a de-addiction centre for alcoholics in Bangalore and later in Hyderabad. It expanded to de-addiction of drug addicts and rehabilitation of HIV positive persons. In 2002, the Foundation started Diya, a specialised facility for HIV positive children and later the PPTCT.