NEW TEST IDENTIFIES HIV-INFECTED NEWBORNS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, February 22, 1993                   TAG: 9302200213
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
NEW TEST IDENTIFIES HIV-INFECTED NEWBORNS
An experimental test developed by California researchers appears to identify quickly and accurately whether newborns are infected with the virus that causes AIDS.
Babies born to HIV-infected mothers have a 20 to 30 percent chance of contracting the virus. But it has been difficult to determine, until a baby was at least a year old, whether a positive HIV test reflected the mother's status or the baby's. Newborns and young babies have immature immune systems and carry their mother's antibodies, as well as their own.
The new test detects the existence of p24 antigen, a protein on the AIDS virus, by splitting the protein away from the antibodies the body produces to fight the AIDS infection. The p24 antigen test is currently used to measure the effects of treatment in adults with HIV.
The test was accurate in a group of 29 children born to HIV-infected mothers. In a group of 78 children, it was accurate about 80 percent of the time.
Researchers also reported that about half of the 29 babies were infected at birth, while the rest were infected in utero. These findings suggest that measures could be taken during delivery to minimize the chance of infection by preventing fetuses from swallowing blood or by preventing cuts that may provide a portal for infection.
Early and accurate HIV tests are important for a variety of reasons: to allay parental fears, which can be intense; to begin therapy for infected children and, in the case of uninfected babies, to avoid exposure to potentially toxic and unnecessary treatments.
Test results and a discussion of the procedure, developed by researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles, were published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine. The test must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration before it can be widely used.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB