Researchers in India and United States are keenly awaiting the results of a multi-centric trial that focuses on how an HIV-infected mother can prevent the virus from being passed on to her newborn. This ambitious trial that got underway at Pune’s B J Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital in 2002 has been completed. The results to be declared in a week’s time are crucial as they will pinpoint on how to lower the rate of HIV infection to infants who were exposed to breast milk.

In fact, pregnant women who are HIV positive, can halve the chances of passing HIV on to their babies by taking antiretroviral drugs. Treatment options include a one-month course of zidovudine (AZT) during the last weeks of pregnancy or a single dose of nevirapine during delivery followed by a single dose to the infant within 72 hours of birth. In Pune, B J Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital enrolled an approximate 730 women for this trial, dean of the college Dr Arun Jhamkar said.

The principal investigator of the trial, Dr M A Phadke who is also the Vice Chancellor of the University of Health Sciences at Nashik, said the results will be declared shortly. The trial, which is an Indo-US study that costs Rs 2 crore, was sponsored by US-based National Institutes of Health (NIH) and was simultaneously started at other countries, Dr Phadke told The Indian Express.

The follow-up of enrolled participants was underway until September this year. The study in Pune has been done jointly with National AIDS Research Institute, Pune Municipal Corporation and health clinics of Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation and other NGOs.

... contd.