A pregnant woman attending an antenatal clinic in a tertiary hospital is diagnosed HIV-positive on screening. Under the National AIDS Control Programme's Prevention of Parent-to-Child Transmission (PPTCT) strategy, what antiretroviral approach is recommended for her?

• A Single-dose nevirapine at onset of labour only
• B Zidovudine monotherapy from 28 weeks of gestation until delivery
• C Antiretroviral therapy deferred until CD4 count falls below 350 cells/mm3
• D Lifelong triple-drug antiretroviral therapy irrespective of CD4 count, continued during pregnancy and breastfeeding ✓

Explanation

India adopted WHO Option B+ under NACP: all HIV-positive pregnant and breastfeeding women receive lifelong triple-drug ART (typically TDF-based) regardless of CD4 count, protecting both the infant and the mother's long-term health. Single-dose nevirapine was the old short-course approach, abandoned because it selects resistant virus and does not suppress maternal viraemia during breastfeeding.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.