Factors associated with mother-to-child transmission of HIV in children born to HIV-positive mothers in Bamako, Mali

Abstract

Objective: The objective was to study factors associated with mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Materials and Methods: This was a case-control study conducted in Bamako from May to August 2019 with 48 cases and 96 controls. One case was a child less than 24 months of HIV positive mother with a positive PCR test and a control was a child less than 24 months of HIV positive mother with a negative PCR test. The data were entered in Excel and analyzed with SPSS version 20. The bivariate analysis was used with a p threshold of 5%. Results: Mothers who were not on ARV treatment before and during pregnancy were respectively 13 times and about 100 times more likely to give birth to an HIV-infected child, than those on treatment. The mother on ARVs 8 weeks before delivery was 0.02 times less likely to give birth to a child HIV positive compared to the mother who did not exceed 8 weeks on ARVs. Children who received a PCR test before age 3 months were 0.11 times less likely to be tested positive for HIV. Children who did not receive ARV prophylaxis at birth, were 77, 36 times more likely to be infected than those receiving ARV. Conclusion: Mother-to-child transmission of HIV was associated with ARV treatment at birth, age at screening, and the status of the mother regarding ARV treatment before and during pregnancy.