Predicting Viral Failure in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Perinatally Infected Youth With Persistent Low-Level Viremia on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy.

BACKGROUND: Less than optimal adherence with antiretroviral therapy occurs commonly among human immunodeficiency virus HIV)-infected youth. In this study, our object was to identify patterns in the prefailure measurement of viral load (VL) that can reliably predict virological failure (VF) in HIV perinatally infected youth on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of HIV-infected youth with low-level viremia (LLV), defined as an HIV VL between the lower limits of detection (20-75 copies/mL) and 1000 copies/mL. All patients were perinatally infected, under 22 years of age, observed for at least 24 months of consecutive follow-up between May 2008 and July 2014, and received their HIV care at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Of the 349 subjects screened, 100 were eligible for analysis. Virological failure was defined as 3 or more consecutive VLs greater than 1000 copies/mL. Multiple logistic regression and receiver operator characteristic curves were used to identify patterns in VL that ultimately resulted in VF. RESULTS: Fifteen of the 100 patients experienced VF. Higher log10 mean VL, positive slope of the VL (log10 copies/mL per day), and fewer clinic visits were associated with a higher probability of VF. Sensitivity and specificity were .87 and .95, respectively. Resistance was not found in 12 of 15 patients with VF. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with LLV that had fewer clinic visits and a trend toward increasing VLs had an increased risk of VF. Noncompliance seems to be a major component of VF. Physicians should emphasize the critical nature of medication adherence.

First Travel-Associated Congenital Zika Syndrome in the US: Ocular and Neurological Findings in the Absence of Microcephaly.

A 6-day-old female baby with known diagnosis of congenital Zika infection was referred for ophthalmologic examination. The mother (37 years old) was referred for a pruritic rash, conjunctival hyperemia, and malaise at 12 weeks of gestation while still living in Venezuela. Upon arrival to Miami, Zika virus (ZIKV) exposure was confirmed during prenatal screening. At birth, due to the known exposure, a complete congenital ZIKV workup was performed, including brain ultrasound and MRI, which disclosed calcifications in the frontal lobe. Fundus examination revealed a hypopigmented retinal lesion in the left eye that was documented with retinal imaging. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2016;47:952-955.].

Practice of feeding premasticated food to infants: a potential risk factor for HIV transmission.

OBJECTIVES: Although some caregivers are known to premasticate food for infants, usually during the weaning period, HIV transmission has not been linked to this practice. We describe 3 cases of HIV transmission in the United States possibly related to this practice. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three cases of HIV infection were diagnosed in children at ages 9, 15, and 39 months; clinical symptomatology prompted the testing. A thorough investigation to rule out alternative modes of transmission was conducted. In addition, phylogenetic comparisons of virus from cases and suspected sources were performed by using the C2V3C3 or gp41 region of env and the p17 coding region of gag. RESULTS: In 2 cases, the mothers were known to be infected with HIV, had not breastfed their children, and perinatal transmission of HIV had previously been ruled out following US HIV testing guidelines. In the third case, a great aunt who helped care for the child was infected with HIV, but the child's mother was not. All 3 children were fed food on multiple occasions that had been premasticated by a care provider infected with HIV; in 2 cases concurrent oral bleeding in the premasticating adult was described. Phylogenetic analyses supported the epidemiologic conclusion that the children were infected through exposure to premasticated food from a caregiver infected with HIV in 2 of the 3 cases. CONCLUSIONS: The reported cases provide compelling evidence linking premastication to HIV infection, a route of transmission not previously reported that has important global implications including being a possible explanation for some of the reported cases of "late" HIV transmission in infants, so far attributed to breastfeeding. Until the risk of premastication and modifying factors (eg, periodontal disease) are better understood, we recommend that health care providers routinely query children's caregivers and expecting parents who are infected with HIV or at risk of HIV infection about this feeding practice and direct them to safer, locally available, feeding options.