Mother-to-child transmission of HIV infection in Manaus, State of Amazonas, Brazil

introduction: reduction in the vertical transmission of hiv is possible when prophylactic measures are implemented. our objective was to determine demographic characteristics of hiv-infected pregnant women and the rate of mother-to-child transmission of hiv in manaus, amazonas, brazil. methods: a descriptive study was conducted using notification, and investigating data from the notifiable diseases data system in the brazilian state of amazonas, between 2007 and 2009. results: during the study period, notification was received of 509 hiv-positive pregnant women. the vertical transmission was 9.9% (95% ci: 7.2-12.6%). the mean age of women was 27 years (sd: 5.7), and the majority (54.8%) had not completed elementary school (eighth grade). diagnosis of hiv seropositivity was made prior to pregnancy in 115 (22.6%) women, during prenatal care in 302 (59.3%), during delivery in 70 (13.8%), and following delivery in 22 (4.3%). four hundred four of these women (79.4%) had had prenatal care, with 79.4% of patients receiving antiretroviral during pregnancy and 61.9% of the newborn infants receiving prophylaxis. in the final multivariate logistic regression model, living in urban area [or = 0.7 (95% ci: 0.35-0.89)] and having had prenatal care [or = 0.1 (95% ci: 0.04-0.24)] remained as protective factors against vertical hiv transmission in this population. conclusions: the relevance of adequate compliance with the measures already established as being effective in guaranteeing a reduction in hiv transmission within the maternal and infant population should be emphasized.