Section 121300 Of Chapter 14. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (aids) Clinical Trial Grant Award For The Prevention Of Maternal Transmission Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (hiv) Infection From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 105. >> Part 4. >> Chapter 14.
121300
. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Nearly 90 percent of the cases of pediatric AIDS in the United
States occur as a result of maternal infant transmission.
(b) It is estimated that from 13 to 45 percent of infants born to
HIV-infected mothers will acquire HIV either in utero, during
delivery, or postpartum.
(c) In 1990, the number of cases of AIDS in women in the United
States increased by 34 percent compared to an increase of 18 percent
in men. As a consequence of this increased dissemination of HIV in
women, there has been a concomitant increase in the number of HIV
infected infants.
(d) Approximately 6,000 children were born to HIV-infected women
in the United States in 1990. This resulted in 1,500 to 2,000 newly
infected infants. Internationally, it is estimated that one million
children acquired HIV through maternal transmission in 1990.
(e) HIV infection that is transmitted maternally progresses more
rapidly than HIV infection in adults, with most infants developing
advanced symptoms of infection within 18 months. Costs for care of
infants infected with HIV have been estimated to be comparable or
higher than the cost of treating HIV-related illness in adults.
Currently, limited data exists for the costs of treating HIV-infected
children. A recent estimate for those costs is as follows:
(1) For the mean lifetime hospital costs per child: ninety
thousand dollars ($90,000).
(2) For the mean annual cost per child hospitalized all year: two
hundred nineteen thousand dollars ($219,000). A significant portion
of pediatric hospital costs may be due to a prolonged hospitalization
because of the lack of foster homes for children.
(3) For the estimated annual medicaid cost: eighteen thousand
dollars ($18,000) to forty-two thousand dollars ($42,000).
(4) In comparison, recent estimates of the national cost of
treating an adult with HIV and without AIDS is five thousand dollars
($5,000) per year and the average cost of treating an adult person
with AIDS is thirty-two thousand dollars ($32,000) per year of that
twenty-four thousand dollars ($24,000) is inpatient costs and eight
thousand dollars ($8,000) for other services.
(f) AIDS vaccines are now available for testing in FDA-approved
clinical trials in HIV-infected pregnant women for the purpose of
protecting against HIV transmission from mother to child.
(g) Manufacturers are hesitant to conduct these trials because of
the combined threat of liability and the limited market to reimburse
the research and clinical trial investment.
(h) The California Legislature wishes to encourage FDA-approved
AIDS vaccine clinical trials to protect against maternal HIV
transmission from mother to child, that may also provide a
therapeutic effect in the HIV-infected mother. It is appropriate to
mandate that grants be made to encourage qualified manufacturers to
conduct these trials for the benefit of California citizens.