3rd Conf Retro and Opportun Infect. 1996 Jan 28-Feb 1;:161. Unique
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether maternal plasma HIV viral load as
measured by RT PCR for HIV RNA predicts vertical transmission. METHODS:
Plasma was collected at 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimester and delivery (visits
1,2,3 and 4, respec) from HIV-infected pregnant women enrolled to the
Women and Infant Transmission Study at 6 sites in the US and Puerto Rico
and stored at -7OC until thawed and analyzed in batch. HIV-1 RNA was
determined using the Roche Amplicor HIV Monitor Kit (400 copies/ml
dectable) after deheparinization by silica binding. All assays were run
with the complete ACTG QC panel. HIV-infected offspring were classified
as early if positive culture less than or equal to 7 d of age and late
if neg 1st culture, then pos at greater than 7 d of age. Infants with
neg cultures for greater than 6 mo were defined as uninfected. 115
maternal sample sets were analyzed (43ZDV tx). Results:(Table: See
Text). In the ZDV naive qroup at delivery, 0/12 transmitted if less than
1000 copies/ml; 7/20 if 1,000-5000; 6/12 if 5,000-10,000; and 11/28 if
greater than or equal to 10,0OO copies HIV RNA/ml respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: ZDV naive transmitters tended to have higher RNA copy no.
than non-transmitters. Mothers of infants with an early positive culture
tended to have higher RNA copy no. than those of late positive infants.
Lack of transmission was associated with a low/undetectable maternal
RNA, but an absolute correlation with rate of transmission was not seen.
*Disease Transmission, Vertical Female HIV
Infections/BLOOD/*TRANSMISSION HIV-1/GENETICS/*ISOLATION & PURIF Human
Polymerase Chain Reaction Pregnancy Pregnancy Complications,
Infectious ABSTRACT