WHO HIV prophylaxis trial data shows cut in maternal transmission
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
The WHO-led Kesho Bora study, published online on 14th January in The Lancet, shows that triple antiretroviral therapy is significantly more effective at preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV than a more standard dual drug treatment. WHO has changed two of its HIV treatment recommendations in line with study’s findings. However, the study coordinator, Dr Isabelle de Vincenzi at the Department of Reproductive Health and Research at WHO told Scrip that the real obstacle to reducing HIV transmission lay not in the drug regime used or even the costs of the drugs but in the capacity of the health systems in sub-Saharan Africa to intervene early in pregnancy, or even before conception.