New nevirapine research challenges earlier findings

New research from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the anti-AIDS drug, nevirapine, can prevent the spread of HIV from mother to child more than once.

The study, which observed 198 women between 2004 and 2005 in Uganda, demonstrated that expectant mothers who received the drug during a first pregnancy were also prevented from passing the virus to their unborn babies during second pregnancies.

Associated Press quoted CDC medical epidemiologist Dr Michael Thigpen as saying, "Based on these findings, we believe nevirapine in repeat pregnancies remains an effective option in these resource-limited countries."

The safety of the drug was brought into question after earlier studies in South Africa and Uganda found that 20 percent to 40 percent of HIV-positive women developed resistance to nevirapine after taking one dose to protect their newborns from becoming infected.