At least 152 pregnant women have been diagnosed with HIV for 10 months in Kyrgyzstan. The Ministry of Health provided such data.
According to the ministry, statistics of pregnant women with HIV has been gathered since 2005. As of November 1, 2020, some 1,615 women have been registered. About 150 pregnant women are diagnosed with HIV in the country every year.
«Since 2005, about 835 children out of 1,382 born by HIV-infected mothers were healthy and were removed from the register. Status of other 335 infants have not yet been determined, as the final test is done after 18 months since birth. Unfortunately, 45 babies were born with the immunodeficiency virus. The main reason is that the mother has not been tested for HIV during pregnancy or has not taken antiretroviral drugs correctly. In addition, 25 babies were stillborn, and 75 babies died before the age of 18 months, so it was impossible to determine whether they were infected,» the Ministry of Health said.
The ministry reminds that HIV can be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. However, pregnant women living with HIV can give birth to healthy babies. To do this, it is enough to take antiretroviral drugs on time and correctly. With appropriate therapy started early in pregnancy, the possibility of infecting the child is 2-3 percent.