HIV tests save lives of two babies

By KERRY WILLIAMSON - The Dominion Post | Friday, 9 November 2007

A pilot programme for HIV screening has been credited with saving two babies, and extending their mothers' life expectancy by decades.

Nine health boards have signed up to offer HIV testing of pregnant women after a pilot study in the Waikato. Its results are published in the New Zealand Medical Journal today.

Experts say high priority must be given to introducing antenatal screening.

"For those women who are diagnosed before they get sick, not only are we saving the lives of their children but we are also detecting it early enough to help the women themselves," said Graham Mills, an infectious diseases consultant with Waikato District Health Board.

Antenatal HIV screening is voluntary in New Zealand. A study of the Waikato programme found less than 10 per cent of healthcare providers offering tests.

The pilot made HIV screening one of six tests carried out on pregnant mothers, including for syphilis, hepatitis B and rubella.

A national programme would cost about $2 million. The test costs $9, and the direct medical cost of caring for an HIV infected child is put at $250,000.

Jane Morgan, a Waikato sexual health specialist, said about 9000 pregnant women were screened for HIV during the year-long pilot.

The virus was found in two, one in her teens, the other in her 20s. Both were infected through sex, one in New Zealand and one overseas.

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