PAHO launches Framework for elimination of mother-to-child disease transmissions during pregnancy

​The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has launched the Framework for elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and Chagas [sha-gus] (EMTCT-PLUS), a series of interventions targeting women before and during pregnancy, as well as new mothers and their babies, in an effort to end mother-to-child transmission of these four diseases by 2020.
 
According to a PAHO release, to reduce mother-to-child transmission of these four diseases to a minimum, the PAHO initiative proposes universal screening of all pregnant women, a policy that every country in the Region and the world has adopted for the diagnosis of HIV and syphilis though not yet for Chagas [sha-gus] disease and hepatitis B.
 
The release also stated, that success of vaccination programs in the Americas suggests that the elimination of perinatal and early childhood transmission of hepatitis B is feasible. However, access must be expanded to ensure that the vaccine reaches at least 95% of children, beginning with a dose for newborns in first 24 hours of life.
 
Every year, an estimated 2,100 children in Latin America and the Caribbean are born with HIV, or contract it from their mothers; 22,400 are infected with syphilis; some 9,000 are born with Chagas [sha-gus] disease; and 6,000 contract the hepatitis B virus.