Indiana's health department launches perinatal HIV website

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana's health department has launched a website to educate healthcare professionals and patients on the importance of perinatal HIV testing.

It is part of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

The website is www.1test2lives.org and it's part of the One Test Two Lives campaign.

Perinatal transmission is the most common route of HIV infection in children. More than 800 children in Indiana have been infected perinatally with HIV since the 1980s.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all pregnant women get HIV screenings as early as possible.

State health officials say only one to two percent of pregnant women with HIV will transmit the virus to their unborn children if they receive appropriate intervention and therapy.

Transmission chances increase to 25 percent without proper treatment.