Mother to Child Transmission of HIV after Option B+ in Low Income Environment

Background: In Cameroon, the prevalence of HIV in pregnant women was 7.8% in 2012, and they were 8500 HIV positive newborns in 2013. Option B+ is the first highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) preventive protocol. The objective was to evaluate the rate of HIV transmission on children born from mothers who were on Option B+ during pregnancy, in three university teaching hospitals of the University of Yaoundé I. Methods: It was a retrospective, cross-sectional study over a period of four years (2013-2017). We included HIV positive mothers not on previous antiretroviral treatment and who received a single tablet daily of combined tenofovir (300 mg) + Lamivudine (300 mg) + Efavirenz (600 mg) started at any time during pregnancy. Newborn received nevirapine syrup according to WHO option B+ protocol. Results: 179 women were included. The average age was 33.5 ± 2.92 years, all ages were represented. Blood donation was the most frequent HIV positive screening opportunity, voluntary testing rate was 29% (29/179), and adherence rate was 98.9%. Few male partners were involved (58/179). Premature deliveries and low birth weight were rare (5/179; 10/179)), the indication of mode of delivery was strictly obstetrical, newborn feeding choice didn’t affect the transmission outcome, and the mother to child transmission rate was 2.2% (4/179). Conclusion: Option B+ could achieve the lowest mother to child transmission ever in Cameroon and should be generalized in high endemicity low resources settings.