New provincial HIV testing guidelines developed by the Medical Society of PEI, the Department of Health and Social Services and the PEI Reproductive Care Program were announced today. The new guidelines, introduced at the annual meeting of the Medical Society, recommend that all pregnant women be offered voluntary HIV testing.
Pregnant women who visit a physician's office will now be offered an HIV test along with other standard prenatal tests. HIV testing will be done only with the woman's consent.
"Even though pregnant women on Prince Edward Island are at low risk of testing HIV positive," states Dr. Lamont Sweet, Chief Health Officer, "medications are now available which can reduce the chances of a pregnant woman who is HIV positive from passing the infection to her baby. When an HIV positive woman takes these medications during pregnancy, the chance of her baby being born with HIV is 1 in 12. Without these medications, the baby has a 1 in 4 chance of being born with HIV."
"The Medical Society of PEI in partnership with the PEI Department of Health and Social Services and the PEI Reproductive Care Program developed educational resources to support the new testing guidelines," states Dr. Kathy Bigsby. "Information sheets outlining HIV testing are now available for all pregnant women. In most cases, this information will be distributed through physicians' offices." she said.
"Offering HIV testing and counselling to all pregnant women is becoming standard practice," states Dr. Peter Noonan, Co-chair of the PEI Reproductive Care Program. "The Canadian Medical Association, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and the Canadian Public Health Association have taken the position that all pregnant women should be offered voluntary HIV testing", he said.
Health departments in most other provinces have also adopted similar policies to reduce HIV transmission from mother to infant.
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