The World Health Organization has congratulated Thailand as the first
country in the Asia-Pacific region to eliminate mother-to-child
transmission of HIV and syphilis. It is also the first with a "large HIV epidemic" to eradicate
mother-to-child transmission of the diseases. In 2014, an estimated
450,000 people were living with HIV in Thailand.
The disease is passed from mother to
child either in the womb or during labor, delivery or breastfeeding, and
if untreated, there is a 15-45% chance of the baby inheriting HIV from
its mother.
If treatment in the form of antiretroviral medicine is given during the crucial stages, that chance is reduced to 1%.
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