Science / Medicine : AIDS Test for Newborns Developed

Researchers say that a new and inexpensive blood test can aid the diagnosis of AIDS virus infection in newborns.

The blood test, which uses a different type of AIDS antibody than the standard AIDS blood test, can be used for children older than 3 months of age, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. By comparison, the standard AIDS antibody blood test is not reliable for diagnosis in children under 15 months of age.

Throughout the world, an estimated 3 million women of reproductive age are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, and are at risk for transmitting the virus to their newborns. About a third of children born to infected mothers will acquire the virus. The research was published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.