HIV

... HIV - a discussion paper for first year university medical students. The Problem Between 25-30% of babies born to HIV-infected women will become infected. Research has shown a higher infection rate in infants when umbilical cord blood contains more HIV protein even though this is too large to pass through the placenta. The placenta prevents most HIV viral DNA from reaching the foetus, but small tears allow the virus to be transmitted during delivery. As the baby is delivered, it comes into contact with the mother's blood and bodily fluids, allowing HIV to attack the baby's cells. Also, T-helper cells transferred from the mother to the child during breast feeding may have become infected by viral particles. (see Appendix for biology of the HIV virus) A possible solution - anti-HIV drugs Anti-retroviral drugs - these are used not to cure but to fight the disease, lowering the viral load. They can increase life expectancy

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