New guidelines for preventing mother-to-child transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus

During a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on 5 and 6 February 2004, a working group of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other scientists, health officials, and community representatives from throughout the world revised the guidelines developed by WHO in 2000 on the use of antiretroviral agents. Special attention was paid to the role of such agents in the prevention of HIV transmission from mother to infant during pregnancy, labor, and breast-feeding. This paper summarizes the newly developed guidelines, which contain specific recommendations for low-resource settings. It is hoped that the information provided will help curb HIV transmission from mother to child in developing countries, where it accounts for the majority of cases of HIV infection in childhood.