Imported User:
The national HIV mother-to-child transmission rate (MTCT) dropped to 2.7% in 2011, according to a Medical Research Council report released on Thursday.
"This data shows a major achievement in the reduction off MTCT and we should celebrate it," Dr Ameena Goga of the Medical Research Council told reporters after the report was releaded in Johannesburg.
This latest announcement should be seen a major development in South Africa's fight against HIV/Aids, the Medical Research Council said.
While not as dramatic as the drop from the 8% MTCT rate recorded in 2008 to the 3.5% rate of 2010, the 0.8% reduction the following year is still a significant achievement.
Goga said this indicated that an estimated 104 000 babies were saved from MTCT in 2010.
The decrease occurred in spite of a marginal increase in the percentage of infants exposed to the pandemic through their HIV-positive mothers from 32.6% in 2010 to 33.6% in 2011.
