The prevalence of nipple disease among breast feeding mothers of HIV seropositive infants

Objective: To determine the prevalence of nipple disease among breast feeding mothers of symptomatic HIV seropositive infants and factors associated with nipple disease. Design: Cross sectional survey. Setting: Harare Central Hospital general paediatric wards. Subjects: One hundred and four symptomatic, HIV seropositive breast feeding infants and their mothers. Main Outcome Measures: Prevalence of nipple disease. Results: The majority of the hospital admissions (90%) were for pneumonia. The prevalence of nipple disease was high (30.8%). Nipple eczema was seen in 22.1%, cracked nipples in 10.6% and sore nipples in 10.6% of these breast feeding mothers. The odds of developing nipple disease in the mother if the infant had oral disease were 11.47 (95% CI 5.28 to 25.39). There was no significant association between nipple disease and mother's age, infant's age, nutrition status or mode of feeding. Malnutrition was a major problem. Conclusion: Nipple disease was highly prevalent and oral disease was the major risk factor for the development of nipple disease in breast feeding HIV seropositive mothers.