Awareness of Prechewing Food by HIV-Infected Women

Prechewing of food by an HIV-positive individual before providing it to an infant is a risk factor for HIV transmission. Reasearchers in three Latin American countries found that over a third of HIV-positive women were aware of prechewing or prewarming food for infants - much higher than expected. Staff at sites weren't anticipating such high levels of awareness and thus did not address the risks of transmission through this method with patients. This is a missed opportunity for perinatal HIV prevention.

Citation:
Gaur AH, Freimanis-Hance L, Dominquez K, Mitchell C, Menezes J, Mussi-Pinhata NM, Peixoto MF, Alarcon J, Coelho DF, Read JS. Knowledge and practice of prechewing/prewarming food by HIV-infected women. Pediatrics. 2011 May;127(5):e1206-11. Epub 2011 Apr 11.

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Abstract