Last week in their Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave the latest statistics on racial and ethnic discrepancies among children diagnosed with perinatal HIV infection. Perinatal HIV infection is any form of HIV transmission from mother to child during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and breastfeeding.

Despite significant progress in other areas of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, studies are still reporting the majority of new perinatal infections to be among African Americans, seconded by Hispanics/Latinos.

This statistic is reflected in the latest data on perinatal HIV infections from 2004 to 2007. The CDC reports that 69 percent of all new infections were among African Americans, and 16 percent among Hispanics or Latinos, together making up a total of 85 percent.

These disparities can be traced to the behavior of expectant mothers in terms of their prenatal care and antiretroviral therapy choices. A previous study found that from 1995 to 1997, African American and Hispanic/Latino women were less likely than Caucasian women to initiate prenatal care during the first trimester and to carry out the appropriate number of prenatal care visits.

In another study that took place from 1997 to 2000, African American and Hispanic/Latino women were found to be less likely to engage in antiretroviral therapy prior to pregnancy.

However, the CDC’s report also contains appreciably good news: since 1991, the total number of new perinatal HIV infections annually in the United States has decreased by 90 percent. This number continues to decrease each year.

To promote this trend, there are several recommended methods to decrease the likelihood of mother-to-child transmission.

Pregnant HIV-positive women should ideally be diagnosed prior to or early on in their pregnancy, receive prenatal care, and utilize an antiretroviral therapy regimen during the pregnancy, labor, and delivery. If viral suppression has not been obtained at 38 weeks’ gestation, a caesarean section is recommended at that point.

Despite these recommendations, the best way to reduce the perinatal HIV infection rate and its associated disparities is to reduce the incidence of infection among women, particularly among those of African American or Hispanic ethnicity.

More information can be found in the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.