AIDS in childrenA

AIDS in children

Since AIDS can be transmitted from an infected mother to the child during pregnancy, during the birth process, or through breast milk, all infants born to HIV-positive mothers are a high-risk group. In 1999, 78% of new HIV cases in women were in females of childbearing age. Without prenatal intervention, between 20-40% of children born to HIV-positive women will become infected with the virus.

AIDS is one of the 10 leading causes of death in children between one and four years of age. The interval between exposure to HIV and the development of AIDS is shorter in children than in adults. Infants infected with HIV have a 20-30% chance of developing AIDS within a year and dying before age three. In the remainder, AIDS progresses more slowly; the average child patient survives to seven years of age. Some survive into early adolescence