PMTCT Programme reduced vertical transmission of HIV in Abuja, Nigeria

Objective: To determine the rate of mother to child transmission of HIV following the introduction of PMTCT program in Abuja. Method: A prospective study of 355 seropositive mothers and their newborns was conducted at the National Hospital Abuja and Asokoro District Hospital Abuja over a 12 months’ period following ethical approval. Using DNA PCR the HIV status of all the exposed babies delivered over the period was determined by taking their peripheral blood at 6 weeks of age. This was repeated 6 weeks post cessation of breast feeding for breastfed babies.. Furthermore, the babies were categorized based on the extent of participation of their mothers in the PMTCT programme and the transmission rates obtained were compared. Result: An overall HIV vertical transmission rate of 6.4% (23/359) was found. A lower rate of 1.6%(5/311) was obtained for those whose mothers fully accessed PMTCT programme as opposed to 15.0% (3/20) for those whose mothers had incomplete participation and 53.6%(15/28) for those whose mothers did not participate. Conclusion: Full participation in PMTCT programme significantly reduced mother to child transmission of HIV.