Breastmilk: A New Approach In Preventing The Spread of HIV

I'm sure all of you are familiar with HIV. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a lentivirus (a member of the retrovirus family) that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections. HIV infection in humans is considered pandemic by WHO. From 1981 to 2006, AIDS killed more than 25 million people. HIV infects about 0.6% of the world's population. In 2005 alone, AIDS claimed an estimated 2.4–3.3 million lives, of which more than 570,000 were children. Infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of blood, semen, vaginal fluid, pre-ejaculate, or breast milk.
For decades, researchers have been looking for ways to prevent this pandemic. They have had little success throughout the years but that's all about to change. Allow me to introduce to you a new way to prevent HIV. Any guesses? Well, it's through breast milk. Who would have thought? I think it's real cool that researchers are thinking out the box b/c that idea came from far left field if I must say so myself lol. Anyways, check out the details on this upcoming project below and feel free to share any thoughts you may have in regards to it.

Preventing HIV via breast milk



Goal: To identify ways to prevent HIV-positive mothers from transmitting the virus to their newborns while breastfeeding.

How they'll do it: By developing low-cost breast and nipple shields that are designed to help protect against infection.

Why it matters: Most of the more than 1,400 children infected w/ HIV daily contract it through mother-to-child transmission, according to WHO.

Who's behind it: Family Health International and Cupron Inc. are both pursuing projects.