<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" color="blue" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">As noted in the article, the two largest sites (Hung Vuong and Tu Du Hospitals) in the HCMC PMTCT program offer free triple-drug combinations, CD4 testing, and counseling for all pregnant women.&nbsp; The district health centers and the pediatric hospitals offer formula and free infant testing through six months of age.&nbsp; Among the mothers of the mostly formula-fed infants we are following at Nhi Dong 1, those mothers who received ARVs before delivery had a transmission rate of 4.8%.&nbsp; This is an excellent achievement.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" color="blue" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></span></font>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" color="blue" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">However, we remain concerned that between 30-50% of pregnant HIV-positive women are only receiving single-dose nevirapine at the time of delivery, rather than the triple-drug combinations.&nbsp; This is primarily because they are not entering the PMTCT programs earlier in their pregnancies. &nbsp;This is a major challenge and reflects the need for greater access to prenatal HIV testing, expansion of referral networks, and better social marketing to encourage greater utilization of these services.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" color="blue" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></span></font>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" color="blue" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></span></font>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" color="blue" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Thank you,</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" color="blue" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></span></font>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" color="blue" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Annette Sohn, MD</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" color="blue" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">University</span></font><font face="Arial" color="blue" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> of California, San Francisco</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" color="blue" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">HCMC</span></font></p>