Bermuda has eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis — joining just five other countries worldwide to achieve the goal, according to Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health.

The transmission of the virus from an HIV-positive mother to her child during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding is known by the acronym MTCT.

Confirming the local elimination of MTCT, which has been set as a high priority of the World Health Organisation, was undertaken by the island’s Department of Health in September 2015, under the guidance of the Pan-American Health Organisation, or PAHO.

The process required extensive reviews of documentation, tracing and verification, as well as a programme of spot-checking the relevant population by the island’s Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit.

Health experts at the Department of Health’s clinical laboratory, the Maternal Health Programme, the Communicable Disease Control Clinic and others collaborated in the exercise, including the Bermuda Hospitals Board.

MTCT for both diseases was confirmed in Cuba in 2015, and Belarus and Thailand in 2016.

Armenia has eliminated the maternal transmission of HIV only, while Moldova has achieved the benchmark for syphilis.

Ms Wilson called it “a remarkable achievement for our team”, thanking both WHO and PAHO for verifying the results.

“While it is excellent news for the healthcare professionals who worked together to realise this result, this really is wonderful news for all prospective parents,” Ms Wilson said.

Cheryl Peek-Ball, the Chief Medical Officer, said the successful elimination meant a healthy start for newborns in Bermuda.

Hard work by ministry staff went into meeting the “coveted and exceptional standard”, Ms Wilson added: the team “worked collaboratively with many colleagues at BHB and in the community who went above and beyond to support the process during the past year”.

“Bermuda will now strive to maintain this level of excellence.”

To meet the requirement for both diseases, the ministry’s team had to show, among other criteria:

• That the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV was less than 2 per cent;

• New cases of HIV infection in infants was 0.3 or less per 1,000 live births;

• Cases of congenital syphilis of 0.5 or less per 1,000 births, including stillbirths;

• More than 95 per cent of mothers had antenatal visits that included testing for HIV and syphilis;

• Treatment for HIV and syphilis was available to more than 95 per cent of pregnant women with HIV and/or syphilis;

• Bermuda had a monitoring and surveillance system to capture national data on transmission;

• The laboratory services and testing on the island are reliable, accurate and timely

This success will be published in the WHO Weekly Epidemiological Record.

More information is available at gov.bm/health-data-and-monitoring.