HIV shock about pregnant women

09 December 2009 - 02:00
By Canaan Mdletshe

TWO-THIRDS of pregnant women in KwaZulu-Natal only go for HIV testing in the late stages of their pregnancies.

This is according to a study into mother-to-child transmission of HIV released yesterday.

By that time treatment to prevent transmission of the illness to the unborn child should already be under way.

KwaZulu-Natal health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo said yesterday that the study indicated a need for aggressive efforts to reduce mother-to-child transmission to eliminate HIV infection in infants and young children.