Thailand eliminates mother-to-child transmission of HIV

Thailand has become the first Asian country to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, a major milestone in the fight against the disease.

According to WHO, Thailand's maintenance of HIV screening procedures and free nationwide provision of antiretroviral treatment to pregnant women infected with HIV has played an important role in preventing the virus from spreading to new generations - Photo: AFP

The announcement is an encouragement to a generation of Thai health workers who have worked to lift the country out of the ranks of countries devastated by AIDS to become a model for effective responses to the disease.

Calling this an “outstanding achievement”, WHO said Thailand had “demonstrated to the world that we can defeat the HIV virus”.

Previously, Cuba was the first country in the world recognized by WHO as having successfully eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV according to WHO assessment standards.

According to WHO, Thailand's maintenance of HIV screening procedures and free nationwide provision of antiretroviral treatment to pregnant women living with HIV have played an important role in preventing the virus from spreading to new generations.

If left untreated, the rate of transmission to the child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding in pregnant women with HIV is about 15-45%.

However, the use of antiviral drugs during pregnancy has significantly reduced the infection rate to just over 1%.

In 2000, Thailand became one of the first countries in the world to provide free antiretroviral drugs to all pregnant women with HIV. Screening for the virus during pregnancy also became mandatory, even in the most remote areas.

According to Thai government statistics, the number of children born with HIV has dropped from 1,000 in 2000 to 85 in 2015. This is the breakthrough that led to the WHO's latest announcement of ending mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Thailand, although much work remains to be done to completely eradicate the disease.

Every year, around 1.4 million women with HIV become pregnant worldwide. Statistics show that the number of children born each year infected with HIV from their mothers was 400,000 in 2009. By 2013, this number had dropped to 240,000.

According to Tuoitre