Study Objectives: 

  • Primary: To determine whether cotrimoxazole offers a survival benefit for HIV-exposed uninfected children
  • Secondary: To evaluate the effect of breastfeeding duration on child mortality

Study Design: Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Study Population: Women living with HIV, age ≥18 years, >26 weeks gestation and < 34 days postpartum, and their infants

Study Duration: 4 years

Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Study Findings

Prophylactic co-trimoxazole seems to offer no survival benefit among HEU children in non-malarial, low-breastfeeding areas with a low risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. 

Links to Study Publications and Reports
Cotrimoxazole prophylaxis was associated with enteric commensal bacterial resistance among HIV-exposed infants in a randomized controlled trial, Botswana
Effect of co-trimoxazole on mortality in HIV-exposed but uninfected children in Botswana (the Mpepu Study): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial
Detecting congenital malformations - Lessons learned from the Mpepu study, Botswana