Factors Associated with Mother‐to‐Child Transmission of HIV‐1 Despite a Maternal Viral Load <500 Copies/mL at Delivery: A Case‐Control Study Nested in the French Perinatal Cohort (EPF‐ANRS CO1)

Early and sustained control of viral load is associated with a decreasing residual risk of MTCT of HIV-1. Guidelines should take into account not only CD4(+) T cell count and risk of preterm delivery, but also baseline HIV-1 load for deciding when to start antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy.