Reducing the Risk of Maternal-Infant Transmission of HIV: A Door Is Opened

Over the past 15 years, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has become a major cause of illness and death in young children. Each year approximately 7000 HIV-infected women give birth in the United States; 1000 to 2000 of their infants are infected with HIV.1 HIV infection is now the seventh leading cause of death in children one to four years of age in the United States.2 The World Health Organization estimates that over 1 million children are infected worldwide.3 These grim statistics emphasize the need for effective interventions to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child.The success . . .