HIV Infection in Children

More than 93% of the HIV positive children around the world have acquired the disease from their infected mothers. Only 7% of them contracted the disease through sexual abuse or injection of drugs. HIV infections

in children cannot be generally diagnosed before the age of three. In the first two years no significant problems appear in them, which would make them susceptible about HIV.

Symptoms of HIV Infections in Children:

• Slow mental growth
• Slow physical growth
• Fungal infection in the mouth
• Frequent bacterial infections
• Infections in the lungs
• Frequent diarrhea
• Frequent pneumonia
• Lungs inflammation leading to difficulty in breathing (lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis)

It has been found that pneumocytis pneumonia is the most common HIV infection in children. It is marked with dry cough, night sweat, short of breath, loss of appetite and gradual weight loss. Every HIV positive child, who has not been given a proper anti-HIV treatment, suffers from this disease at least once, in the first fifteen months of his life. This disease claims the death of more than 50% of all HIV-positive children.

Another common HIV infection in children is Anemia, which makes them weak and less energetic than other children of their age. Anemia often culminates into various heart problems like irregular heartbeat or even heart failure.

Brain damage in HIV positive children, restricts their basic growth. They are unable to crawl, walk and talk. They have a smaller head and are slow in socializing with their surroundings. They are slow in learning the language, or laughing and crying at the right reasons.

These children also suffer from lymphoma of the brain, hepatitis or kidney inflammation. Lymphoma leads to degeneration of the lymph cells of the brains that further spoil the immune system.

HIV infections in children make their muscles either too fragile or too rigid. In many cases, the muscles of their feet are too weak to take the weight of their body.

Preventions for transfer of HIV in children:

Previously, children who were born with HIV had no scope of living. However now, both the mother and the child can resort to several effective vaccines. These vaccines reduce the mortality rate of the HIV positive children to less than 3%. In order to prevent HIV infections in children, the mother must undergo combination therapy consisting of ATZ, during the last six months of the pregnancy. At this point ATZ can be consumed through mouth. It may also be taken during labour, through intravenous administration. A child born from a HIV positive mother, is given this treatment for the first six weeks of his life regularly. It has also been found that there remains a low possibility of transfer of the disease, if the mother opts for caesarian delivery instead of a normal one.

However, it is always recommended to go for an early infant diagnosis if the expectant mother is HIV-positive, so that it may be nipped in the bud, before things go out of control. With good treatment at the early stages of infancy, the child could be capable of leading a fairly normal life.