Federal government commends Illinois’ work in eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognize the state for having one of the most comprehensive systems for knowing a pregnant mother’s HIV status

CHICAGO – With a nod to two pediatric AIDS initiatives, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich announced this week that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has commended Illinois for its efforts to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Illinois, through partnerships with the Pediatric AIDS Chicago Prevention Initiative (PACPI) and Perinatal Rapid Testing Implementation in Illinois (PRTII), has woven together an exemplary safety net of perinatal HIV prevention, CDC officials said, noting that Illinois is a model of statewide implementation of rapid HIV testing.

“The CDC’s recognition of our efforts to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV is just another example of how the State of Illinois is leading the way in healthcare. Along with community partners, we have worked to make sure every pregnant woman in Illinois receives mandatory HIV counseling as well as HIV testing and support services if needed. Through the implementation of our Perinatal HIV Prevention program we have dramatically reduced the number children born in Illinois with HIV and have saved lives,” Gov. Blagojevich said Monday.

In a recent letter from the CDC, Steven Nesheim, M.D., Leader of the Mother-to-Child Transmission Team wrote, “The integration of Perinatal Rapid Testing [Implementation in Illinois], the perinatal hotline and enhanced perinatal case management is one of the exemplary perinatal HIV prevention programs in the United States. As a result of the team’s efforts, the number of HIV-infected infants in Illinois has undoubtedly been substantially reduced and many of the hardest-to-engage women have gained access to critical HIV care and services that they may have otherwise not received.”

The most effective way to prevent mother-to-newborn HIV transmission is through routine prenatal testing of all pregnant women, including intensive support services for those who are HIV-positive.

In August 2003, Gov. Blagojevich signed into law the Perinatal HIV Prevention Act mandating health care professionals to provide HIV counseling for every pregnant woman and offer HIV testing. The law was amended as of June 2006 to position Illinois for enhanced federal funding to support its pediatric HIV elimination initiatives – PACPI (pronounced “pack pea”) and PRTII (pronounced “pretty”).

Since 2004, Illinois has supported the interventions of PACPI and PRTII which work with the state’s 130 birthing hospitals, a 24-hour clinical HIV hotline for obstetricians and hospital staff (1-800-439-4079), and specialized case managers who help HIV-positive pregnant women in Illinois reduce the chance that their infants will become infected with HIV.

As a result of this robust hospital and support service network, Illinois has achieved universal HIV screening for pregnant women and averted hundreds of potential HIV infections to newborns.

Illinois’ success can be seen in the most recent data which shows that from October through December 2007, health professionals knew the HIV status of newborn infants and their mothers 99.97 percent of time upon discharge from the hospital. In the quarter ending August 2004, health professionals knew the HIV status of newborn infants and their mothers 72 percent of the time upon discharge.

This represents an extraordinary amount of progress in a short period of time. Illinois’s work in combating pediatric AIDS is “a model and inspiration” for other areas of HIV prevention, Nesheim noted.

To date, PRTII protocol and resource materials have been used by seven other states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Hospital Association and the World Health Organization Mother-To-Child Transmission Program in Nigeria.

“Laws without action are merely good intentions,” said PACPI executive director Dr. Patricia Garcia, a member of PRTII, a group of HIV care providers and public health professionals funded by the state to assist with effective implementation of the Perinatal HIV Prevention Act. “Systems of care are essential for prevention to work and Illinois has a system in place to help pregnant women."

“Most children with HIV were inadvertently infected by their mothers during pregnancy. However, more than 99 percent of mother-to-newborn transmissions of HIV can be prevented if a pregnant woman is tested for HIV as early in pregnancy as possible, and treated with medications before and after the birth of her child. That’s why it is so important to know the HIV status of pregnant women,” said Dr. Damon T. Arnold, Illinois Department of Public Health Director.

MEDIA: To arrange interviews with local hospital administrators in your area who are working with PACPI and PRTII to eliminate pediatric AIDS, please call AIDS Foundation of Chicago communications director Johnathon Briggs at: 312-334-0922 or PACPI Project Director Anne Statton at: 312-334-0974.

The Pediatric AIDS Chicago Prevention Initiative (PACPI) was established in 2000 by Pediatric AIDS Chicago to help eradiate the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother to child. Chicago-based PACPI has helped fund and develop HIV-specific prenatal classes, a statewide hotline for those who work with pregnant HIV-positive women and a model for enhanced case-management to link HIV-positive women to appropriate care. Visit: www.pediatricaidschicago.org/PACPI.php

###