CELL-FREE HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS TYPE-1 IN BREAST-MILK

Breast-feeding may be an important route of human immunodeficiency vir us type 1 (HIV-1) vertical transmission in settings where it is routin ely practiced, To define the prevalence and quantity of HIV-1 in cell- free breast milk, samples from HIV-l-seropositive women were analyzed by quantitative competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain rea ction (QC-RT-PCR), HIV-1 RNA was detected in 29 (39%) of 75 specimens tested. Of these 29 specimens, 16 (55%) had levels that were near the detection limit of the assay (240 copies/mL), while 6 (21%) had >900 c opies/mL, The maximum concentration of HIV-1 RNA detected was 8100 cop ies/mL, The prevalence of cell-free HIV-1 was higher in mature milk (4 7%) than in colostrum (27%, P = 0.1), Because mature milk is consumed in large quantities, these data suggest that cell-free HIV-1 in breast milk may contribute to vertical transmission of HIV-1.