AOA Supports Immediate HIV Testing and Reporting for Newborns

7/21/2003

From: Karyn Gianfrancesco of the American Osteopathic Association, 312-202-8042, 800-621-1773, ext. 8042

CHICAGO, Ill., July 21 -- The American Osteopathic Association's (AOA) House of Delegates voted on Saturday, during their Annual Business Meeting in Chicago, to support the immediate HIV testing and expeditious reporting of results for all newborns whose mothers' HIV status is unknown.

The delegates acknowledged that although there is a national standard of care for routine universal prenatal HIV testing, women have the right of refusal and 25 percent of them choose not to undergo prenatal HIV testing. In addition, 91 percent of all pediatric AIDS cases in the United States result from perinatal transmission from mother to child. However, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine (1998;339;1409) found that 25-40 percent of newborn HIV infections can be prevented if antiretroviral therapy is given to newborns within the first 24-48 hours of life.

The AOA's House of Delegates, comprised of more than 500 osteopathic physicians (D.O.s) and osteopathic medical students from across the country, meets annually in July to set organizational policies and elect new officers.

The AOA represents approximately 49,000 osteopathic physicians (D.O.s), promotes public health, encourages scientific research, serves as the primary certifying body for D.O.s, and is the accrediting agency for all osteopathic medical schools and health care facilities.