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10th Anniversary Conference Of The British HIV Association [BHIVA]15 – 17 April 2004, City Hall, Cardiff, UK |
[AUTHOR(S):] M Dedicoat1,2, R Newton3, D Casabonne3, A Berrington de González3, Z Buthelezi1, T Page1, T Shulz4, C Gilks5, S Cassol1
1 Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, Somkhele, KwaZulu/Natal, South Africa; 2 Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, 3 Cancer Research UK, Epidemiology Unit, Oxford, UK; 4 Department of Virology, Hannover University Medical School, Germany; 5 Imperial College School of Medicine, London, UK
BHIVA Conf 2004 Apr 15-17;10:O24
AIM: To examine maternal breast-feeding behaviour and the prevalence of HIV-1 in rural South Africa.
METHODS: Feeding behaviours among HIV-infected and uninfected mothers were compared. The prevalence of HIV among children with HIV-infected mothers was compared between those who had regular mixed-feeding or exclusively breast-feeding at recruitment.
RESULTS: Among mothers, the prevalence of HIV infection was 28% (705/2520). Among children of infected mothers, the HIV prevalence was 22% (155/705). For children aged 60 days or under, those with HIV-infected mothers were more than twice as likely to have been introduced to regular mixed feeding compared to children with uninfected mothers [31% (45/146) versus 14% (50/369); P<0.001]. Among children of the same age, born to HIV-infected mothers, there were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of HIV infection between regular mixed feeding or exclusive breast-feeding.
CONCLUSIONS: The finding that mothers of young infants are more likely to have regular mixed feeding if they are HIV-infected than if they are not suggests that a policy of exclusive breast-feeding may be difficult to implement among HIV-infected mothers. Furthermore, we find no evidence to support the view that exclusive breast-feeding is associated with a lower prevalence of HIV infection in children.
PRESENTING AUTHOR: M Dedicoat
040415
O24
Copyright © 2004 - British HIV Association (BHIVA) Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the BHIVA Organising Secretariat 1 Mountview Court, 310 Friern Barnet Lane, London N20 0LD