Zidovudine could cut transmission of HIV by mothers

Zidovudine reduces the risk of mothers who are HIV positive transmitting the virus to their fetuses by two thirds, according to preliminary results of a multicentre clinical trial. The trial was sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health and the French Agence Nationale de Recherches sur le SIDA.

The study, in which 59 centres participated, was stopped early when analysis of data showed a transmission rate of 8.3% when both mothers and their babies received zidovudine compared with a rate …