Prevalence of HIV in antenatal women and awareness among them regarding PPTCT in GGH, Kadapa and implementation of PPTCT program in GGH, Kadapa

Abstract

Background: As HIV infects humans and stays in their body for a lifetime decreasing their disease-fighting capacity and predisposing them to many opportunistic infections thereby compromising the quality of life, detecting the disease early, counselling people about the various modes of its transmission, starting ART early in pregnancy helps in reducing its transmission to the infant. Aims & Objectives: This study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of HIV among antenatal women and determine the awareness among them regarding the prevention of parent to child transmission and implementation of PPTCT among them in a tertiary care centre. Methodology: Over 14800 cases attending the antenatal OPD and admitting in labour ward have been screened for HIV from January 2019 to October 2020 in GGH; KADAPA. Results: About 92 cases were seropositive. A maximum number of cases with seropositive status were in the age group of 20-30. The youngest age was 17 years and the oldest age was 35 years. The seropositive pregnant women were clinically staged as per WHO in which maximum women belonged to STAGE 1. A maximum number of seropositive women were housewives and illiterates. Maximum no. of seropositive husbands were either truck or lorry drivers, daily labourers and migrants. 99% of the women were adherent to ART. HIV virus is transmitted through breast milk. Transmission rates for breastfeeding mothers may be as high as 30-40%, but with the regular usage of ART in mothers and babies this transmission has reduced significantly. Among 54 children who were born to HIV positive women, 53 babies tested negative and 1 baby whose mother was not taking ART regularly was tested positive for HIV at 6 weeks of age. ART was effective for prevention of transmission of HIV to children from their mother. HIV transmission rate is less in children whose mothers were on ART compared to children whose mothers were not on ART. Conclusion: Awareness among antenatal women regarding HIV, its transmission and Prevention of parent to child transfer was 65.25%. Few studies stated that utilisation of PPTCT program is influenced to a larger extent by the education level of the pregnant women. PPTCT is doing tremendous work aiming to provide a better life to HIV infected women, taking all the measures to prevent parent to child transfer and aiming to eradicate paediatric HIV.