HIV-positive infant awaiting adoption
HIV-positive infant awaiting adoption
Central News Agency
2009-03-27 12:47 PM
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Taipei, March 27 (CNA) A five-month-old male infant confirmed to be human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive, is awaiting adoption, a charity organization said Friday.
The infant, dubbed "Heibao, " is the youngest HIV-carrier in Taiwan, said Chiu Shu-mei, executive director of the Home of Mercy Infant Center.
As the center is aware that it will be difficult to get Heibao adopted in Taiwan because of the prejudices about AIDS and adoption harbored by many Taiwanese, it has decided to put the infant on a waiting list for adoption by people from abroad, even though it knows that adoption procedures usually take at least two to three years before a baby can be adopted and travel to his or her new home overseas, Chiu said.
Despite being HIV-positive, Heibao is presently healthy and developing normally on a daily drug cocktail therapy, Chiu added.
According to Chiu, Heibao's parents are both drug addicts and the infant did not receive any medical attention either before or after his birth to his HIV-positive mother.
The child's father died shortly after the birth, while his mother was arrested and jailed, leading to him being taken in by the center.
Receiving medication before and after birth is critical for such infants, as proper medication in those critical periods reduces the chances of them becoming HIV-positive to under 1 percent, said Chiu, a veteran social worker who has been taking care of AIDS patients and handling AIDS-related affairs for more than 10 years.
The Cabinet-level Department of Health (DOH) in 2005 implemented anumber of measures to stem mother-to-infant HIV transmission during pregnancy. These measures focus on three major areas -- disease screening, medical treatment and health care.
As a result, 95 babies born to HIV-positive mothers have tested free of the disease between 2005 and 2009, according to DOH statistics.
The department estimates that the risk of mother-to-infant HIV transmission during pregnancy drops from 45 percent to 2 percent if the mothers adopt preventive medical care.
HIV is transmitted to infants mainly at conception, during labor or by breast feeding, and preventive therapy during these phrases can prevent infection, DOH officials said.
(By Deborah Kuo)