South Africa Study Demonstrates Why We Need Mandatory HIV Testing for Infants

Seven years ago, I wrote about the courageous campaign of New York Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn (D-Queens), who bucked her usual political allies to force the first “Baby AIDS” legislation in the country, requiring all infants to be routinely tested for HIV. The hell she was put through for trying to save lives was unbelievable. From my Weekly Standard article (subscription required):

The fight over Mayersohn’s “Baby AIDS” bill was a real donnybrook. Movement feminists, gay activists, ACLU types, some physicians, and legislative colleagues unleashed a near-hysterical hue and cry. Mayersohn became a pariah, turned on angrily by former political allies and friends. “After I introduced the legislation, all hell broke loose,” Mayersohn recalls. …

Even more astounding to Mayersohn was the illogic of her opponents’ arguments and their skewed priorities: “I was visited by the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and they asked me to withdraw the legislation. I said to them, ‘Your community has been so devastated by the disease; so many young lives have been lost. Why wouldn’t you support this?’ And they said, ‘Privacy is our main concern.’”

“Then I met with the feminists. I asked them to support my bill. I said, ‘This is a woman’s bill.’ Their response knocked my socks off. They said, ‘Well, Nettie, think of the potential for domestic violence the bill will be generating if a guy finds out [his partner’s] infected. This is a domestic violence issue.’”

“I said, ‘The real violence is getting infected!’ If I am in a bad marriage or abusive relationship, I can do something about it. I can get myself out. I can repair a broken jaw. But if someone infects me with HIV, that will mean the end of my life. So, the feminists turned on me. …

But Meyherson persevered, and NY became the first state with mandatory testing. The law saved lives:

Today [circa 2000] the law is working well and saving lives. According to the New York Department of Health, prior to the “Baby AIDS” law about 59 percent of infants with HIV went home from the hospital unidentified to their mothers as having tested positive. By the time of a study published on November 3, 1997, a magnificent 98.8 percent of HIV-exposed infants were being identified and receiving follow-up care.

Well, now more proof that instituting universal infant HIV testing would improve infected babies’ chances for survival comes out of a study in South Africa. From the story:

A study of infants in Cape Town and Soweto in South Africa found that infants given immediate drug treatment had a 96 percent survival rate compared with 84 percent for children where treatment was deferred.

The study, sponsored by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), was so successful that it was amended in 2007, ending enrollments for the deferred treatment group and evaluating those in the group for treatment…An estimated 2.3 million children are currently HIV infected, with around 600,000 new HIV infections in children each year. Without treatment half of all babies infected with HIV die before their second birthday.

“Children with HIV infection frequently show rapid disease progression within the first year of life due to their developing immune systems and susceptibility to other serious infections,” said Dr Elias Zerhouni, director of the U.S. National Institute of Health, in a statement on the study at an IAS conference. “This is the first randomised clinical trial that shows that infants treated before 3 months of age will do better than infants who have their treatment delayed,” Zerhouni said.

Implementing mandatory testing in poor countries would be difficult, but should be a priority for the billions in AIDS funding that is pouring into these at-risk nations. Developed countries like the USA have no excuse. There should be mandatory and routine HIV testing of all newborns. Now.