This is a good editorial from the British Medical Journal on Mother to child transmission of HIV in China

Excerpt:

In 1995, the first case of mother to child transmission was reported to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Yunnan province. Since then, data from China HIV and AIDS case reports have shown a small number of cases: 3-4 in 1997-9, 10 in 2000, 32 in 2001, and 41 in 2002.8 However, the proportion of reported cases of HIV and AIDS attributed to transmission from mother to child has increased from 0.1% in 1997 to 0.4% in 2002. Studies have shown a high prevalence (30-38%) of HIV infection among children born to HIV infected mothers in certain areas of China.9 10

In 1995, China's government established a national sentinel surveillance system to monitor trends in HIV and AIDS in four target groups: clients of sexually transmitted infection clinics, commercial sex workers, intravenous drug users, and truck drivers. In 1997, the first sentinel site for pregnant women was set up in Yining city, Xinjiang province. Since then, additional national and provincial sentinel sites have been established.

Prevention of mother to child transmission is also an imperative, especially since use of antiretroviral therapy for the mother during pregnancy and for the infant after birth is an effective measure. Efforts to prevent transmission in China are under way, and China's government has mandated that they be scaled up rapidly. In 2002, the ministry of health and Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention joined with Unicef to conduct a programme in Henan province. Voluntary counselling and testing were provided by the health ministry in other areas to facilitate pilot work.8 In addition, under the guidance of the ministry of health, the division of maternal and child health (affiliated with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention) are enrolling women from Guang-dong, Guangxi, Henan, Xinjiang, and Yunnan provinces to find effective strategies.11 In 2004 the ministry of health published guidelines to prevent mother to child transmission, addressing issues of testing for HIV infection, provision of antiretroviral treatment, and infant feeding.12 13

China currently has few HIV cases related to mother to child transmission and an overall low prevalence of HIV infection in pregnant women. However, two provinces in China have HIV prevalence rates in pregnant women in excess of 1%, a rate that is indicative of a generalised epidemic. Efforts to prevent heterosexual transmission of HIV and mother to child transmission are underway in areas of increasing HIV prevalence in adults. The course of the HIV epidemic in China should be easier to discern over the next few years.

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