The number of cases of HIV infection among children up to 5 years of age in Brazil fell by 87% between 2009 and 2021, according to indicators from the Department of Chronic Diseases and Sexually Transmitted Infections (DCCI), of the Ministry of Health (MS).
In absolute terms, the number of registrations dropped from 562 to just 74 in this period.
The transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus from pregnant women to fetuses happens by the so-called vertical transmission, which occurs during pregnancy, childbirth or even breastfeeding. People with the virus may or may not develop Human Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), it all depends on having the diagnosis and starting treatment as soon as possible.
For Adriana Ferrazini, president of the Child AIDS Project, in São Paulo, HIV testing at the time one discovers the pregnancy directly influenced the drop in vertical transmissions.
“In addition to the greater information that these mothers receive nowadays, the drop happened because of the exam that is done as soon as a woman becomes pregnant. Thus, the risk is infinitely reduced, but it is also crucial that the pregnant woman continues the follow-up. That’s because here in the project, for example, we have cases of mothers who went through pregnancy well, but ended up getting infected during breastfeeding without knowing it and passed it on to the baby”, says the social worker.
Also according to Adriana, care during pregnancy has made great progress in recent years, but “there is still little communication about AIDS for children, who today do not even know what it means”.
“What worries me these days is that we stop talking about AIDS and children aged 8, 9 and even 10 years old often don’t know what it is. They are the ones who will soon be young and will start their sexual life without conscience, having relationships without protection. And all this can generate an explosion of infections again”, says Adriana.
Drop in cases among pregnant women
Data from the Ministry of Health’s indicators platform indicate that there has also been a drop in the infection of pregnant women in recent years. From 2017 to 2020, the year of the latest data compiled by the ministry, the number of infected people per thousand live births went from 8,577 to 4,280 – a reduction of 50%. Experts consider, however, that in 2020, because of the pandemic, the data may present a high degree of underreporting, as many people stopped going to hospitals due to Covid-19.
The president of the National Commission Specialized in Infectious Diseases of the Brazilian Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Associations (Febrasgo), gynecologist Geraldo Duarte, says that the drop in the number of cases is mainly justified by the improvement in treatment protocols and greater availability of tests.
“About 5, 6 years ago, diagnosed people only started receiving treatment when they had symptoms of immunodeficiency due to AIDS. After a lot of pressure from society, this protocol was modified and the treatment starts as soon as the diagnosis is made. On the other hand, the greater availability of tests allows for early diagnosis and treatment in the early stages of the disease”, explains the gynecologist.
For the doctor, the number of infections among pregnant women is an important indicator of the disease situation in the country.
“If the number of infected pregnant women drops, the number of children also drops and, consequently, the number of adults in the future. So the trend is that the number of total infections in the country follows the variation of the disease among pregnant women”, explains the gynecologist.
Total number of cases also falls in Brazil
The total number of AIDS cases in the country has fallen every year since 2013. During this period, there was a drop of 69%. From 43,493 cases in 2013, Brazil went to 13,501 in 2021.
Deaths caused by the disease also fell in the country: from 2015 to 2020, the year of the last data compiled by the ministry, the deaths caused by AIDS went from 12,667 to 10,417.
For Paulo de Souza Júnior, researcher at the Institute of Communication and Scientific and Technological Information at Fiocruz (ICICT/Fiocruz), the advance in the fight against the disease in the country is mainly due to the role of the DCCI in the immediate treatment after the diagnosis of the disease.
“The numbers show that the department’s actions have been quite effective. With early treatment, in addition to reducing the risk of the patient having HIV-related infections and reducing the risk of death, the chances of the patient remaining linked to the health service also increase. As a result, many do not even get AIDS and die from other causes”, says the Fiocruz researcher.
Rio state numbers
In the State of Rio de Janeiro, the State Health Department (SES) identified the same downward trend in infections. The number of children under 5 with HIV in the state decreased by 55.9% from 2018 to 2021.
In 2018, the state recorded 34 cases of vertical transmission. In 2019, the number dropped to 32. In 2020, there were 19 and in 2021, 15.
According to the manager of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI/AIDS) at SES, Juliana Rebello, the sooner the virus is detected and antiretroviral therapy begins, the better.
“With treatment, it is possible to reduce the mother’s viral load until it becomes undetectable and, thus, prevent the transmission of HIV to the child”, explains the server.
*under supervision of Helena Vieira
Source: CNN Brasil
