Prevencion de la transmision sanguinea del VIH: La experiencia mexicana

Abstract

The problem of HIV transmission through blood in Mexico has unique features in terms of its magnitude, its causes, and the preventive measures that have been adopted. As of August 1988, 1 628 cases of AIDS had been reported in Mexico, of which 74 percent were ascribe to sexual contact, 12 percent to transmission, 1 percent to a combination of factors; and 11 percent to undetermined causes at the time. Of the 201 subjects infected by blood, 159 (79 percent) were infected though transfusions; 37 (18 percent) are hemophiliacs, and 5 (3 percent) are intravenous drug users. The percentage of cases of transmission through blood is greater than that reported in other countries of the Americas, such as the United States and Brazil. This problem was associated with a prevalence of HIV infection of 7 percent among paid donors as compared with a frequency of infection of 0.1 percent among volunteer donors. Preventive measures undertaken include the establishment of a National AIDS Prevention Committee that, in turn, determined legislative amendments to the General Health Law that included compulsory screening to detect HIV infection among all donors and prohibition of the sale of blood. It was also decided that HIV infection and AIDS should be subject to epidemiologic surveillance and must be reported to health authorities immediately. A national network of screening laboratories was set up and an