Lack of evidence of transmission of HIV-1 to family contacts of HIV-1 infected children

Expert consensus statement on the science of HIV in the context of criminal law

INTRODUCTION

Globally, prosecutions for non-disclosure, exposure or transmission of HIV frequently relate to sexual activity, biting, or spitting. This includes instances in which no harm was intended, HIV transmission did not occur, and HIV transmission was extremely unlikely or not possible. This suggests prosecutions are not always guided by the best available scientific and medical evidence.

DISCUSSION

Twenty scientists from regions across the world developed this Expert Consensus Statement to address the use of HIV science by the criminal justice system. A detailed analysis of the best available scientific and medical research data on HIV transmission, treatment effectiveness and forensic phylogenetic evidence was performed and described so it may be better understood in criminal law contexts. Description of the possibility of HIV transmission was limited to acts most often at issue in criminal cases. The possibility of HIV transmission during a single, specific act was positioned along a continuum of risk, noting that the possibility of HIV transmission varies according to a range of intersecting factors including viral load, condom use, and other risk reduction practices. Current evidence suggests the possibility of HIV transmission during a single episode of sex, biting or spitting ranges from no possibility to low possibility. Further research considered the positive health impact of modern antiretroviral therapies that have improved the life expectancy of most people living with HIV to a point similar to their HIV-negative counterparts, transforming HIV infection into a chronic, manageable health condition. Lastly, consideration of the use of scientific evidence in court found that phylogenetic analysis alone cannot prove beyond reasonable doubt that one person infected another although it can be used to exonerate a defendant.

CONCLUSIONS

The application of up-to-date scientific evidence in criminal cases has the potential to limit unjust prosecutions and convictions. The authors recommend that caution be exercised when considering prosecution, and encourage governments and those working in legal and judicial systems to pay close attention to the significant advances in HIV science that have occurred over the last three decades to ensure current scientific knowledge informs application of the law in cases related to HIV.

Fears about HIV transmission in families with an HIV-infected parent: a qualitative analysis

OBJECTIVE

Children of HIV-infected parents may be affected by their parents' disease even if not infected themselves. Because of advances in HIV treatment that have reduced the risk for vertical HIV transmission from mother to child, more HIV-infected adults are having children. Few studies have examined whether families with an HIV-infected parent experience fears about transmission to children and how they address such fears. In this article, we describe transmission-related fears in families with an HIV-infected parent.

METHODS

We used semistructured qualitative interviews, conducted in person from March 2004 to March 2005, with 33 HIV-infected parents, 27 minor children who were 9 to 17 years of age, 19 adult children, and 15 caregivers (adult family members or friends who helped care for the children and/or parents) to investigate their fears about HIV transmission. The parents are a subset from the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study, a study of people in care for HIV throughout the United States. We analyzed the interview transcripts for themes related to transmission fears.

RESULTS

In many of the families, participants identified >or=1 HIV transmission-related fear. Themes included specific fears related to blood contact, bathroom items, kissing/hugging, and food. Families addressed their fears by educating children about modes of HIV transmission and establishing rules or taking precautions to reduce the risk for HIV transmission in the household. HIV-infected parents were also concerned about catching opportunistic infections from a sick child.

CONCLUSIONS

Many of the fears experienced by HIV-infected parents and their children were based on misconceptions about modes of HIV transmission. Pediatricians and others who treat these children may be able to offer counseling to allay fears that family members have about household transmission of HIV.

Sampling irregularities, or why the present estimate for risk of HIV casual transmission is probably an underestimate

Updating the list of casual transmission studies yielded a minor revision of the recently reported estimate of the risk of HIV casual household transmission, estimating it as 0.3% per year of contact. A meta-analysis of the studies used to calculate this risk indicated that the estimated risk is probably an underestimate for four main sampling irregularities: (a) The studies employed samples which were based on selective non-participation of subjects including refusals and unlocatable subjects at average rates of 36% and 14%, respectively; (b) only 17% of the studies reported full numerical details of the population studied; (c) the studies were based on unjustified exclusions of subjects by the investigators at an average rate of 31%; (d) the sampling of studies cited in the transmission studies is consistent with the hypothesis that the studies were biased against reporting cases of casual transmission. In the 13% of the studies that reported full details of exclusions, the average rate of all exclusions combined was 84%. Since it is likely that cases of casual transmission were mostly included among the exclusions, this may have resulted in an unrepresentatively low frequency of casual infection among the 16% that were left to be studied.