Background: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) can be transmitted from infected mother to her baby. Objective: To assess transmission rate of HIV from seropositive mothers on highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) to their formula-fed babies. Method: A cross-sectional study of 65 paired mothers on HAART and their formula-fed babies was carried out. Polymerase chain reaction-deoxyribonucleic acid (PCR-DNA) of the babies was done at six weeks of age. Epi info was used to analyse data. Results: Mean age of mothers was 30.26 ± 0.5 years. About 73.8% of the paired mothers were diagnosed with HIV before their current pregnancies and 69.2% initiated HAART before their current pregnancies. Duration of HAART use was between three months and two years. Modes of deliveries were caesarean section (15.4%) and vaginal route (84.6%). Only one (1.5%) of the babies was positive to PCR-DNA test at six weeks of age. There was no statistically significant association between the baby's PCR-DNA at six weeks of age and the mode of delivery (OR-0.0047, CI-95%, Fisher Exact=0.8461) as well as between the time of initiation of HAART by the paired mothers and the paired baby's PCR-DNA results (RR-0.9778, CI-95%, Fisher Exact=0.6923). Conclusions: Overall mother to child transmission (MTCT) rate in this study was 1.5%. Use of HAART for more than three months, irrespective of delivery route, is capable of significantly reducing MTCT of HIV even in resource-constrained settings.

Infants born to HIV sero-positive mothers have different shades of outcome which has been established by metaanalysis. Some of these outcomes include: Pre-Term Delivery (PTD), Still Birth (SB), infant's mortality/morbidity, Low Birth Weight (LBW) and high Mother-To-Child Transmission (MTCT) rate of HIV infection among others. 1,2 The association between the use of HAART in pregnancy and PTD is controversial though other studies have established a correlation especially when its use in pregnancy is less than 13 weeks. 3,4 LBW is shown to be common with infants born to HIV pregnant women on ABSTRACT Background: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has worsened infant mortality in developing countries. These deaths are associated with Low Birth Weight (LBW), varying morbidities and high transmission rate of HIV from mother to her baby. This study assesses the short-term outcome of paired formula-fed infants born to their paired mothers on HAART. Methods: A cohort study of sixty five paired mothers and their babies attending Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) clinic for 6 weeks after delivery. The data collected was analyzed using Epi info 3.3.2 version. Results: All the paired mothers had live births. There were no intra-uterine foetal death, still-births and no pre-term deliveries reported. About 12 (18.5%) of these babies had their birth weight <2.5 kg (LBW). Only 1 (1.5%) baby was positive to PCR-DNA test at six weeks of age. Varying morbidities were reported in 39 (60.0%) of the babies and respiratory tract infection, ophthalmia neonatorum, diarrhoea and malaria were the commonest observed. There was no statistical significant association between transmission of HIV from mother to child and maternal time of initiation of HAART (CI-95%, RR-0.9778, Fishers exact-0.6923). There was also no statistical significant association between transmission rate of HIV and mode of delivery (CI-95%, Fisher exact-0.8461). Conclusions: The use of HAART in HIV sero-positive mothers was shown to have favourable infants' outcome. It is hoped that this work will improve quality of care by primary care physicians and open more opportunities of uptake of PMTCT programme by affected families.