Herpes in pregnancy raises HIV risk for baby

HIV-positive women diagnosed with genital herpes during pregnancy are quite likely to pass HIV to their infants. However, further studies are needed to confirm the relationship. At present, HIV-positive women who contract herpes during pregnancy are treated for herpes infection and given medications beginning at approximately 36 weeks to prevent the transmission of herpes to the infant - the same way such infections are treated in pregnant women without HIV. The following study questions whether HIV-positive women with any prior or current history of herpes infection should receive anti-herpes drugs throughout pregnancy in order to prevent transmission not only of herpes but also HIV. Researchers from the Columbia University, USA, evaluated 402 HIV-positive pregnant women, 5 percent of whom had a diagnosis of herpes during pregnancy. Six of the 21 women with herpes delivered HIV-infected infants. After accounting for other risk factors for perinatal HIV transmission, the researchers found that herpes infection raised the risk of the baby becoming infected with HIV by nearly fivefold. One of the study's strengths is that herpes diagnosis was clinically confirmed; its weaknesses include the lack of information on HIV levels for the pregnant women. The researchers are currently conducting a trial in which they are analyzing viral levels for both HIV and herpes virus in the genital fluid of HIV-positive pregnant women.