Study involves researchers with UW International Clinical Research Center
By Bobbi Nodell
Researchers have found that breastfeeding mothers taking the antiretroviral drugs tenofovir and emtricitabine have a low risk of side effects. The study, published in PLOS, was conducted by colleagues at the UW International Clinical Research Center and partners in Kenya, Uganda and Johns Hopkins University.
A leading HIV/AIDS researcher said the study is great news for stemming a public health emergency in sub-Saharan Africa where young pregnant women have some of the highest rates of HIV infection globally.
“The benefits of HIV prevention in pregnant and breastfeeding women and their infants in these regions, given the currently available evidence, seem to clearly outweigh the risks observed to date,” wrote Dr. Lynne Mofenson with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation in an accompanying editorial.
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