Government was yesterday presented with evidence that it could save the lives of thousands of babies cheaply and effectively by giving their HIV positive mothers the drug Nevirapine during labour.

The drug could cut the rate of HIV transmission from mother to child by about one third, meaning that only about 7% of babies born to HIV positive women would be infected at birth.

At present, some 60 000 HIV positive babies are born each year in South Africa. Yet most could be saved for R21 – the cost of one tablet for a mother in labour plus another for her and her baby soon after.

“This is compelling data. It works, it’s easy to implement and it’s cheap,” said Dr Glenda Gray, head of the Chris Hani Baragwanath’s perinatal HIV unit, and part of the drug trial.

The results of the 10-month study – in which Nevirapine was tested against AZT — have not yet been written up, but the Department of Health was given the speakers’ notes yesterday.

“The department of health has been receptive and open to our study,” said Gray, describing the HIV epidemic amongst children in this country as “overwhelming and explosive”. About 5 000 HIV positive babies are born each month.

Health department director general Ayanda Ntsaluba said that once he had the written report, his department could study it and then meet the researchers and discuss the matter further.

“But to think we can just wake up in the morning and give Nevirapine is just not possible,” said Ntsaluba.

Gray said the main barrier to implementation nationally was the lack of   facilities to test the HIV status of pregnant women.

The study of over 1 300 women found that 28 doses of AZT had to be given in order to be as effective as Nevirapine.

Dr James McIntyre, co-head of the study, said that although four mothers and 17 babies had died, none of these deaths were related to the drugs.

Co-head Dr Daya Moodley said babies’ infection depended on how much HIV their mothers had in their bodies, but warned babies who were breastfed after birth were at much greater risk of getting HIV in the first six months of their lives than those who were bottlefed.

Government has been under great pressure to provide anti-retrovirals to pregnant HIV positive mothers, as some 60 000 HIV positive babies are born in the country every year. However, in the past government has said that anti-retrovirals are too expensive.

In addition, government officials have pointed out that even if these babies were saved their quality of live would be compromised as they were destined to be orphans.

The Treatment Action Group has said that it is immoral to save babies without giving anti-retroviral drugs to their mothers.  

“I am tired of hearing about orphans when their parents can be saved by anti-retroviral drugs,” said the TAC’s Zackie Achmat. – Health-e News Service.