Karabo
Since both of these babies are still very little, this test only indicates that both of their mothers were HIV positive. Babies have a small amount of their mother's blood in their circulation for up to 6 months after birth. Hopefully, they have only a small viral load and their immune systems will be able to fight it off. In that case, they will eventually test negative. But sadly, many babies are unable to fight off the virus and continue to test positive (meaning they too are HIV positive).
Themba
2 comments:
I thought I saw on some medical show once, that if the mothers take the right precautions, the babies have a small chance of being HIV positive. Is that true?
That is true. If the mothers take their antiretroviral medications at the same time each day and have a C-section rather than a normal delivery, they greatly increase their child's chances of remaining HIV negative. But most of the women in the villages and squatter camps deliver in their shacks, so a C-section is not really an option. Many have access to the medicine they need, but few actually take it as they should.
Post a Comment