Weiser B, Nachman S, Tropper P, Viscosi KH, Grimson R, Baxter G, Fang G, Reyelt C, Hutcheon N, Burger H; Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

Abstr Intersci Conf Antimicrob Agents Chemother Intersci Conf Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1994 Oct 4-7; 33.

Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY.

To develop strategies to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1, it is important to define the factors determining it. We examined the relationship between maternal HIV-1 titer and the occurrence of mother-to-child transmission. In addition, we quantitated HIV-1 longitudinally in mothers during pregnancy, delivery, and up to one year postpartum. To examine transmission, we prospectively studied 19 mother-child pairs; in 5 pairs, HIV-1 transmission occurred. We used endpoint dilution culture of PBMCs to determine maternal viral titer, and found that although 4 of 6 (67%) women with viral titers greater than or equal to 125 HIV-1 infectious units per 10(6) cells transmitted HIV-1 to their infants, only 1 of 13 (7.6%) women with lower viral titers transmitted (p=0.01). 12 of the mothers had HIV-1 loads determined 3-8 times over 18 to 65 weeks. The viral load in each woman remained stable over time. In this cohort, HIV-1 viral load and clinical status remained stable during pregnancy and the greater the maternal viral burden, the more likely that transmission occurred. Determination of HIV-1 titers early in pregnancy may predict which women are at high risk of transmitting to their infants and may be used to counsel HIV-1-infected women of child-bearing age. These data identify maternal viral titer as a major determinant of mother-to-child HIV-1 transmission and thereby provide the scientific rationale for therapeutic strategies designed to interrupt mother-to- child transmission by lowering viral load.

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• Child
• Delivery, Obstetric
• Disease Transmission, Vertical
• Female
• HIV-1
• Humans
• Infant
• Laboratory Techniques and Procedures
• Maternal-Fetal Exchange
• Mothers
• Pregnancy
• Pregnancy Complications, Infectious
• Viral Load
• organization & administration
• surgery
• transmission
• virology

Other ID:

• 95920704

UI: 102213653

From Meeting Abstracts