HIV TEST ON PREGNANT WOMEN

By V L Srinivasan
VL.Srinivasan@apexstuff.com

Muscat, July 28: According to Ministry of Health figures, 48 cases of mother-to-child
transmission (MTCT) of HIV were recorded in the country between 1984 and 2008. Of these, 33 were detected between 2001 and 2008.

The higher incidence of MTCT HIV in the last few years prompted the ministry to launch a project earlier this month to screen all pregnant women, including expatriates, in Oman. The project includes antenatal,intrapartum and postpartum management for mother and child.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) estimates there are 60,000 pregnant women currently in the country.

Following the detection of the rise in MTCT HIV cases, the Department of Family and Community Health at the MoH submitted the proposal to screen all pregnant women in the country to the Mother Child Health Advisory Committee.

The committee’s approval came in December 2007, and following the training of staff and completing formalities, screening commenced on July 1 in antenatal care clinics in every government and private hospital in the country.

“If we keep our eyes closed, we will have a community of children with HIV in the coming years,” said Dr Yasmin Ahmed Jaffer, director of the Department of
Family and Community Health, MoH.

At this stage, however, the ministry is undecided on the course of action for the future – whether HIV testing should be conducted as part of the routine tests currently done on pregnant women or as surveillance in select areas where the
incidence of MTCT HIV is found to be high.

According to Dr Ali Ahmed Salim Baomer, head of the AIDS section in the ministry, preventing even a single child from getting infected by an HIV-positive mother as a result of this project would make it worthwhile. “We will consider various options, including mandatory screening on all pregnant women, in the future.”

Though not a single case has tested positive since the tests began, many would-be mothers are opposing the tests fearing social stigma if they are found to be infected with the virus. “They have reservations but our officials are counselling the women to undergo the screening,” Dr Baomer said.

A baby can get infected with HIV during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. But this can be prevented by giving HIV-infected mothers and their babies anti-HIV drugs. Following treatment, an HIV-positive mother can give birth to a healthy baby which
must then be given formula, as breast feeding accounts for 20 per cent of MTCT HIV cases.

These interventions are known as prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT). “No mother wants to pass HIV to her child, but without PMTCT interventions,
around one in three babies born to women with HIV becomes infected. Once the interventions are in place, only one in eight infants is infected,” Dr Baomer said.
According to MoH figures, of the 123 female HIV/AIDS cases recorded between 2001
and 2007, 65.4 per cent (80 cases)were in the age group of 25 to 49 years; 14.63 per cent (18 cases) in the 15 to 24 age group; 12.2 per cent (15 cases) over 50; and 8.1 per cent (ten cases) under 14.

“Considering that more than half the cases are among women between 15 and 35 years, the ministry has decided to target its awareness campaign, ‘Let’s Talk Aids’, launched this January, at them. The campaign will continue into the next year,” Dr Baomer added.

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