Conference Summary [Conference on Global Strategies for the Prevention of HIV Transmission from Mothers to Infants (1997)]

II. SCIENTIFIC SESSIONS

Epidemiologic Summary
Since the start of the AIDS epidemic, nearly 30 million people have been
infected with HIV, according to estimates by the World Health Organization. This
estimate includes 26.8 million adults and 2.6 million children.
An estimated 5 million adults and 1.4 million children have died since the
epidemic began.
An estimated 3.1 million new HIV infections occurred in 1996, according
to WHO. That's almost 8,500 a day - 7,500 adults and 1,000 children.
Nearly half of all new HIV infections in 1996 occurred in women,
according to UNAIDS.
Today, an estimated 21.8 million adults are living with HIV infection. More
than 830,000 children worldwide are HIV-positive, the World Health Organization
reports.
More than 90 percent of HIV infections occur in the developing world.
The World Health Organization estimates that during the next decade,
between 5 and 10 million children will become infected with HIV through
perinatal transmission.
In African nations, and other developing countries, HIV continues to have
a devastating effect on the infant death rate. According to a UNAIDS study,
infant death rates in Kenya in the year 2010 would be 70% lower without AIDS;
in Tanzania and Uganda, 40% lower; in Zambia, 60% lower.
The HIV prevalence in pregnant women in northern European countries is.01 percent, according to UNAIDS. In Caribbean countries, it's about 10 percent.
In the southern part of Africa, it's as high as 40 percent.
Current Therapeutic Strategies for the Prevention of HIV Transmission
From Mothers to Infants
* Scientists know the ACTG 076 regimen works, but it's unclear exactly how.
It's agreed the drug has some effect on the viral load, the amount of virus in
the blood. But many researchers believe there are additional mechanisms at
work, and various studies are examining this question. Research that
pinpoints the precise workings of AZT in preventing perinatal transmission
could help in developing other, shorter course antiretroviral therapies for
developing countries.

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