Any hope for infants with HIV-positive mothers?

Formula feeding is cheap and available in developed countries. In other parts of the world, because access to clean water, formula and antiretroviral therapy (ART) is not easy and breast feeding as an option is cheap and comes with known health benefits, many mothers resort to breast feeding even while infected with the HIV virus.

What hope can there be for millions of children at risk? Last month, the Mississipi baby who was thought to have been cured of HIV, disappointingly, was reported with detected levels of the virus. This poses a challenge to pediatric health specialist to proffer new immune-based protective strategies, new vaccines for delivery to children at risk of being infected with HIV virus through breast milk, to think up new ways to boost potentially protective maternal antibodies.

While seeking answers to these challenges, foremost at the minds of these health workers are the effectiveness, facility of administration and the safety of whatever strategies they can think up, even if HIV-preventive nutritional supplements are expected to be part of the offerings.

One fact is clear: in view of the recent news about the Mississipi girl, new strategies have to be pursued to help children at risk of infection with HIV virus through breast milk.

Further reading: Scientists call for new strategy in pursuit of HIV-free generation.