A. A Okechukwu and O. I Okechukwu
Maternal acquired HIV antibodies transferred during pregnancy from sero-positive mothers to their infants is expected to disappear before 18 months of postnatal life. To determine the time these maternal HIV antibodies transferred via the placental during pregnancy disappears from the blood of exposed uninfected Nigerian infants. A two year prospective study was carried out among HIV exposed uninfected children at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Nigeria from November 2008 to October 2010 for the above objective. Of a total of 112 HIV exposed uninfected children studied, 57.1% were males and 42.9% female, m:f of 1.3:1. Greater than 28% of exposed uninfected infants sero-reverted before 6 months of age, 89 (79.5%) by 9 months, 110 (98.2%) by the 12th month, and 100.0% by 15 months. More males appeared to have sero-reverted than their female counterpart at 9 months of age, x2 =8.21, p=0.004. No association was seen between the other study variables and time of sero-reversion, p values > 0.05. Most HIV exposed uninfected Nigerian infants sero-reverted before 9 months of age. The study therefore advocates monthly serology test for exposed infants from 3 months to identifying early sero-reverters for possible discharge from the paediatric special treatment clinic in centres with no facility for DNA PCR test.
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