Early Detection of HIV Infection in a Newborn

Abstract

To the Editor: Case reports have suggested that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can be transmitted from mother to off-spring by different routes, including transplacental passage, intra-partum exposure to infected maternal blood, or postnatal exposure to breast milk.^{1 2 3 4 5} Studies have suggested that between 65 percent and 91 percent of infants born to infected mothers eventually have seroconversion to HIV.^{6 , 7} Since newborns are not fully immuno-competent and because maternal antibodies cross the placenta, serologic methods are less useful as a means of rapidly detecting HIV infection in a newborn. Here, we report the use of in situ hybridization as a relatively . . .