Reporting of five years mother to child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus among human immunodeficiency virus-exposed infants followed from 2009-2013 at “centre et mère et enfant de la fondation chantal biya”, yaounde, Cameroon

Introduction: Paediatric Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection remains a Public Health issue in developing countries. Survival of HIV-infected children is closely related to early combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). Thus it is very important to improve access to Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT), diagnosis and care. This study aimed at assessing Mother To Child Transmission of HIV (MTCT) and to identify factors associated with MTCT in infants born of HIV-infected mothers and routinely followed in a referral pediatric hospital in Yaounde, Cameroon. Materials And Methods: Analysis of routine data collected from 2009 to 2013 has been conducted in the “Centre Mère et Enfant de la Fondation Chantal Biya” in Yaounde, Cameroon. All the HIV-exposed infants who attended at least once the Day Care Unit during these 5 years have been included in this study. Early Infant Diagnosis of HIV (EID) using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) until 18 months and HIV serology beyond were offered free of charge. Results: Of 2,768 HIV-exposed infants, 2068 children were HIV-uninfected (1 death, 1150 uncompleted follow-up), 322 were HIV-infected (19 deaths, 8 uncompleted follow-up) and 378 were not tested for HIV status or with no result available (23 deaths). Mean follow-up=260 days. 1,434 boys and 1,334 girls. When the mother and/or the infant received any antiretroviral treatment, MTCT was 5.64% versus 43.6% when mother and child received nothing as a treatment. The main factor associated with lower MTCT was history of any antiretroviral treatment in HIV-infected mother or HIV-exposed infant. Artificial feeding and antenatal monitoring of HIV-infected mother in a referral hospital were also associated with lower MTCT. Conclusion: In a routine program, as expected, MTCT is much more important among HIV-exposed infants or mothers who did not have access to antiretroviral drugs for PMTCT. Moreover, access to HIV testing and PMTCT must be increased, especially in private and peripheral level health facilities.