Abstract
The high incidence of HIV infection in females of reproductive age in Italy is responsible for a high number of pediatric AIDS cases compared to other European Countries. Therefore it is important to assess the prevalence of HIV infection among parturients in order to estimate the further incidence of pediatrics AIDS in the population. Between June 1988 and November 1989, 67,337 blood samples collected from consecutive newborns for routine metabolic screenings in 98 hospitals from different Italian regions were examined for HIV-Ab. Blood saturated disks were punched out from the collection paper, without identification, eluted in citrate buffer and screened for HIV-Ab in ELISA: the positive results were confirmed in a Western Blot. Among the 67,337 blood samples examined 82 (0.12%) - (95% Confidence Limits 0.097--0.151) were positive for HIV-Ab. The distribution pattern of positive samples among the different regions correlated with the local pediatric cumulative incidence rate, with higher values in Lombardia and Lazio regions. Anonymous serosurveys for HIV-Ab in newborns provide useful data for the estimation of HIV prevalence in the population and for monitoring the trend of the infection in females of reproductive age.
Log in or create a free account to read this content
Gain free access to this article, as well as selected content from this journal and more on nature.com
or
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stegagno, M., Carapella, E., Ippolito, G. et al. 106 PREVALENCE OF ANTI-HIV ANTIBODIES (HIV-Ab) IN AN ITALIAN NEWBORN POPULATION. Pediatr Res 28, 294 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199009000-00130
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199009000-00130
