HIV infection, malaria, and pregnancy: a prospective cohort study in Kigali, Rwanda.

In order to study the relation between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and malaria in women, during and after pregnancy, a prospective cohort study was initiated at the Centre Hospitalier de Kigali in Rwanda through routine voluntary and confidential HIV screening in antenatal clinics. At inclusion in the cohort of all HIV-positive and an equivalent number of HIV-negative pregnant women, between 21 and 28 weeks of gestation, sociodemographic characteristics and medical history during the current pregnancy were collected; screening for malaria (tick blood smear) and anemia and a CD4 lymphocyte count were systematically performed. Each woman enrolled had a monthly follow-up until 6 months after delivery.

Maternal plasma viral load, zidovudine and mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 in Africa: DITRAME ANRS 049a trial.

Objective: To study the relationship between maternal plasma RNA levels and mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV-1 in African breastfed children.

Design: Nested case-control study within a randomized trial assessing the efficacy of a short maternal zidovudine (ZDV) regimen to reduce MTCT.

Methods: Eligible women received either 300 mg of ZDV twice a day until labour, 600 mg at the beginning of labour and 300 mg twice a day for 7 days post-partum or a placebo.

Natural history of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection in children: a five-year prospective study in Rwanda. Mother-to-Child HIV-1 Transmission Study Group.

Objective: To compare morbidity and mortality of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected and HIV-1-uninfected children and to identify predictors of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and death among HIV-1-infected children in the context of a developing country.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Maternal and child health clinic of the Centre Hospitalier de Kigali, Rwanda.

6-month efficacy, tolerance, and acceptability of a short regimen of oral zidovudine to reduce vertical transmission of HIV in breastfed children in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso: a double-blind placebo-controlled multicentre trial. DITRAME Study Group. DIminution de la Transmission Mère-Enfant.

Background: Zidovudine reduces the rate of vertical transmission of HIV in non-breastfed populations. We assessed the acceptability, tolerance, and 6-month efficacy of a short regimen of oral zidovudine in African populations practising breastfeeding.

Methods: A randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial was carried out in public clinics of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, and Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.