Mother to child HIV transmission rate drops
Mother to child HIV transmission rate dropped from 15% to 2.1% at Lower Umfolozi War Memorial Regional Hospital
MORE than 6.4 million South Africans living with HIV, Lower Umfolozi War Memorial Regional Hospital hosted an Aids day event last week to, among others, create awareness with the hope of diminishing mother to child transmissions and breaking the stigma attached to those infected by the virus.
HAST (HIV/Aids, STD and TB) Unit Operations Manager Glory Mnguni said although the mother to child transmission rate dropped from 15% to 2.1%, steps still need to be taken toward promote early diagnosis.
‘Despite informative talks and advice, patients do not adhere to treatment guidelines, which ultimately leads to resistance. A change in medication then makes it more difficult to manage the virus,
‘Lack of transport results in many patients unable to collect ARVs, causing longer stays at the hospital instead of transferring them to local clinics.’ Mnguni said.
Dr Natasha Sukdev added that many mothers are prone to denial, resulting in longer recovery periods.
‘Mothers struggling to accept their status have negative implications on the child as by the time they seek medical attention, the baby is often at an advanced stage of virus infection.
‘In some cases, mothers die leaving the child with an interim caregiver, which changes regularly, and thus the child’s treatment is not administered properly which causes additional complications.’ she said.
LUWMRH offers free HIV/Aids testing and counselling.
