Abstract

Ukraine occupies the first place in Europe for the number of HIV-infected people and patients with AIDS. Ukraine is also the leader in HIV infection dissemination and the corresponding coefficient approaches the level of 1.4% of the adult population. HIV dissemination among pregnant women in Ukraine is one of the highest in Europe. This exponent is about 0.4% of the total number of pregnant women at the beginning of the year 2008 as compared to 0.002% in the corresponding period of the year 1995. The Odesa region is the largest region of Ukraine, including 29 districts. The Odesa region is in first place of Ukraine as to the level of HIV/AIDS infection cases and is third for infected pregnant women. The negative tendency is that the number of HIV infected persons increases among pregnant women, which includes 86% of the patients being of reproductive age and the situation badly needs early diagnostics to help diminish the risk of HIV infection by vertical transmission to the child. During last 10 years the number of HIV infected pregnant women increased by 17%. This increases the number of children born by HIV-infected mothers. Annual figures are as follows: 292 children in year 2005, 321 in 2006, and 478 in 2007. Anti-retroviral therapy applied in time allows the diminishing of the newborn HIV infection rate from 30% to 9%. As a result, more than 1270 previously infected children were qualified as healthy.