One mother to child HIV transmission was stopped and eliminated in Thailand. It was done through rigorous treatment and counseling for the pregnant mother diagnosed with HIV.
Thailand launched their program which focused on eradication of HIV transfer between the mother and the child. An HIV-infected patient successfully gave birth without transferring the disease to her son. She was able to deliver an HIV-free infant after going through an antiretroviral treatment or ARV and rigorous counseling aided by Thailand's government.
According to the World Health Organization, Thailand is the first country in Asia to eradicate mother to child HIV transmission. The mother gave birth to her first child 16 years ago which worried her that her first born contacted the disease.
As for the second child however, Anya (the mother) was already aware of the precautions. She already knew her to monitor the amount of HIV present in her blood as reported on CNN. She was taught how to note her viral load and the number of CD4 cells that protects her from HIV.
Though Thailand's HIV program, she confidently went through her pregnancy without the fear of getting sick. She was also confident that her second child would be 100 percent HIV-free.
"With my first child, I was scared, but with my second, I was not scared at all because I knew what my viral load and CD4 levels were, and he wouldn't contract it," Anya told the reporters via phone call.
The World Health Organization has been doing its best to eradicate the widespread of HIV. It was mentioned that in Thailand alone more than 450,000 people are infected with HIV. The mother and child transmission usually occurs during labor, breastfeeding or during the delivery wherein the child is at risk by 15 percent in contacting HIV.
"To ensure children are born healthy is to give them the best possible start in life. It is immensely encouraging to see countries succeed in eliminating mother-to-child transmission of these two infections," Margaret Chan, the WHO Director General Manager said.
