The AIDS virus can be transmitted by a mother pre-chewing
the food for his baby, a practice that is spread mainly in poor, developing
countries, U.S. government
scientists said Wednesday in a presentation in Boston.
According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, there were three cases of babies infected this way. The first case
occurred in Miami,
where a 15-month-old African-American boy was diagnosed in 1993. His aunt was
infected with HIV and pre-chewed food for the boy when he was between the ages
of 9 months and 14 months.
The second case involved a 3-year-old Caribbean-American
boy, also in Miami.
He was diagnosed in 1995, after his HIV-infected mother had pre-chewed his
food.
After discovering the two cases, doctors suspected, but were
unsure of a connection between pre-chewing food and HIV transmission. Doctors
confirmed their suspicion in 2004, when a third case, a 9-month-old
African-American girl in Memphis,
was diagnosed with HIV. The mother had been pre-chewing the girl’s food for
approximately 5 months.
The scientists said the practice is usually met in
developing countries where mothers lack access to packaged baby food or may not
have a way to blend food. The scientists believe the practice is very rare in
the United States
or other wealthy nations, but may happen. Pre-chewing may also be the result of
practices passed from a generation to another, they said.
HIV is present in saliva, but usually in amounts too low to
cause transmission. Therefore, it remains just one way to transmit the virus,
the blood coming from the bleeding gums and mouth sores that mothers have, Dr.
Kenneth L. Dominguez from the CDC and his team said at the 15th
Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.
Previous studies have linked pre-chewing to the spread of
other infections including Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that causes stomach
ailments and streptococcal pharyngitis, which triggers sore throat.
The researchers said it is too early to draw clear
conclusions and they need more study to confirm their findings.
“Pre-mastication is a newly recognized route for HIV
transmission that warrants further investigation in order to continue reducing
cases of HIV transmission in the U.S. The findings could have more significant
implications for developing countries,” said Dr. Dominguez.
Health officials are urging parents and caregivers not to
pre-chew the infants’ food and educating doctors about such kind of
transmission.
“The researchers advise that health care providers and
HIV-infected child caregivers should be aware of the potential health risks and
should advise those caregivers against the practice of pre-chewing food for
their infants,” the CDC said.
