In 2013, 2 million people were newly infected with HIV, and 11% of those new infections were infants that obtained the disease from their mother. In resource poor settings, like Sub-Saharan Africa, infection rates from mother to child can range from 15-45%. With proper prevention of mother to child transmission (MTCT), these rates can drop to 5%. Proper prevention includes the use of antiretroviral treatment (ART) during pregnancy, delivery, and post-partum and breastfeeding. In 2010, WHO proposed a model that required all HIV positive mothers to receive ART. The model successfully increased the amount of women on treatment, and many countries also saw a decrease in the rate of MTCT, however barriers still exist. In my thesis, I explain how HIV attacks an individual’s immune system, and why it has been such a difficult epidemic to control in regards to mother to child transmission. I also examine how different models of prevention are successful, and why Option B+, proposed by WHO in 2010, has been the most successful. Lastly, I propose new additions to the model in an attempt to circumvent the barriers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:CLAREMONT/oai:scholarship.claremont.edu:scripps_theses-1831 |
| Date | 01 January 2016 |
| Creators | Ach, Elizabeth |
| Publisher | Scholarship @ Claremont |
| Source Sets | Claremont Colleges |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Scripps Senior Theses |
| Rights | © 2015 Elizabeth Ach, default |
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