Pre–Antiretroviral Therapy Vertical HIV-1 Transmission Risk in Uganda Varies by Sex of Child and Maternal Viral Subtype

The Journal of Infectious Diseases 2026 Open access

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Authors: Zoe Gotthold, Adam Epstein-Shuman, Godfrey Kigozi, Susanna L. Lamers, Victor Ssempijja, Gabriel Quiros, Michael Martin, M Kate Grabowski, Reinaldo E. Fernández, Larry W. Chang, Ronald M Galiwango, Gertrude Nakigozi
+4 more S. R. M. Reynolds, Eileen P. Scully, Andrew D. Redd, Oliver Laeyendecker
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiag198
Cited by: 1
References: 14

Abstract

We analyzed perinatal transmission in a pre-antiretroviral therapy Ugandan cohort by maternal human immunodeficiency virus type 1 subtype and infant sex in 131 mother-child pairs. Among all children, if the mother was infected with subtype A there was a nearly 3-fold increased risk of perinatal transmission compared with subtype D (risk ratio [RR], 2.96 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.46-6.01]; P = .008). When stratifying infants by both sex and maternal subtype, significantly more female (56.3% [9 of 16]) than male (9.1% [1 of 11]) infants born to mothers with subtype A were infected (RR, 6.19 [95% CI, .91-42.12]; P = .02). In contrast, among infants born to mothers with subtype D, transmission rates were comparable across sex (RR, 1.59 [95% CI, .57-4.41]; P = .39).

Fields of Study & Subjects

HIV Research and Treatment HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions HIV/AIDS drug development and treatment

Publication details

Journal / source
The Journal of Infectious Diseases
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Volume
234
Issue
2
Pages
e369–e373
Publication date
1 April 2026
Language
EN