Clinical malaria diagnosis in pregnancy in relation to early perinatal mother‐to‐child transmission of HIV: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

We prospectively investigated fever symptoms and maternal diagnosis of malaria in pregnancy (MIP) in relation to child HIV infection among 2368 pregnant HIV-positive women and their infants, followed up from pregnancy until 6 weeks post-delivery in Tanzania. Doctors clinically diagnosed and treated MIP and fever symptoms during prenatal health care. Child HIV status was determined via DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for HIV mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) by the 6th week of life. Mean gestational age at enrolment was 22.2 weeks. During follow-up, 16.6% of mothers had at least one MIP diagnosis, 15.9% reported fever symptoms and 8.7% had both fever and MIP diagnosis. Eleven per cent of HIV-exposed infants were HIV-positive by 6 weeks. The RR of HIV MTCT was statistically similar for infants whose mothers were ever vs. never clinically diagnosed with MIP (RR 1.24; 95% CI 0.94-1.64), were diagnosed with one vs. no clinical MIP episodes (RR 1.07; 95% CI 0.77-1.48) and had ever vs. never reported fever symptoms (RR 1.04; 95% CI 0.78-1.38) in pregnancy. However, the HIV MTCT risk increased by 29% (95% CI 4-58%) per MIP episode. Infants of women with at least two vs. no MIP diagnoses were 2.1 times more likely to be HIV infected by 6 weeks old (95% CI 1.31-3.45). Clinical MIP diagnosis, but not fevers, in HIV-positive pregnant women was associated with an elevated risk of early HIV MTCT, suggesting that malaria prevention and treatment in pregnant HIV-positive women may enhance the effectiveness of HIV prevention in MTCT programmes in this setting. Future studies using a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of malaria are needed to confirm this association.