New tests show effects of HAART

Mothers with HIV-1 are less likely to pass on the disease through breast feeding if they are being treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), a new study has suggested.

The research, which is due to be published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, advises that HAART should be used as early as possible by eligible mothers in areas such as Africa.

This is due to the limited resources available in these regions and the high levels of breast feeding found there.

The study, which has been carried out by Taha Taha of John Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, involved the study of 2,318 mother-infant couples in Malawi.

Of those tested, six per cent of the infants became infected with HIV-1, with mothers being treated with HAART having a 1.8 per cent transmission rate, compared to 10.6 per cent of those who were untreated.

Recently, it was revealed that new trials into H1N1 treatments for mothers infected with Aids are set to begin this month.

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