Mother to Child Transmission of HIV Infection and its Pre-disposing Factors among Exposed Infants on Care at Taraba State Specialist Hospital, Jalingo, North-East Nigeria

Background: Mother to child transmission remains a persistent source of HIV acquisition. This can occur in utero, antepartum and post-partum. PMTCT strategies and interventions include the use of antiretroviral agents (ARVs) for mother and infant, caesarian section before onset of labor and delivery and avoidance of breast feeding. Objective: To ascertain M-T-C-T prevalence of HIV and evaluate the efficacy of the different PMTCT interventions on HIV status of exposed infants. Materials and Methods: Early infant diagnosis laboratory records of 151 exposed infants who had HIV RNAPCR test from January 2016- July 2017 were retrieved. Data on antiretroviral regime for mother and infant, sex of infant, infant feeding practice for the first three months and HIV RNAPCR result were analyzed. Results: Of the 151 subjects analyzed, 16 (10.6%) were positive for HIV RNA. Infants on prophylaxis had a lower transmission rate of 8.8% when compared to the 28.6% recorded for infants that were not given ARV. Mixed fed infants recorded the highest transmission rate of 16.1%. When mother and infant received ARV transmission rate was 8.3%, but when none received ARV, transmission rate rose to 50%. Conclusion: The transmission rate recorded in this study is alarming especially when mother and child pair did not receive any form of ARV. Thus, there is need for antiretroviral coverage expansion, better access to PMTCTcenters and programs and increased child birth education for HIVpositive women and health-care providers.