ART to Decrease MTCT and Improve Survival in Botswana

Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) rates can be as low as 1% if antiretroviral therapy (ART) is provided during pregnancy and continued until breast-feeding has stopped. However, rates of HIV transmission and of maternal and child mortality beyond the intervention period remain unknown. In a recent randomized, controlled trial involving 730 HIV-infected, treatment-naive pregnant women in Botswana, researchers explored this issue.

The 560 participants with CD4 counts ≥200 cells/mm³ were assigned to regimens containing either three nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs; Arm A) or an NRTI plus a boosted protease inhibitor (Arm B), started between 26 and 34 weeks' gestation and continued through weaning or 6 months postpartum, whic…