Children with AIDS

Children with AIDS are prone to the same opportunistic infections as adults, but as well experience severe forms of bacterial infections such as:

• conjunctivitis (pink eye)

• ear infections

• tonsillitis

• delayed development or failure to thrive.

as well as

• delayed development

• failure to thrive

AIDS sufferers commonly develop various cancers caused by viruses such as:

• Cervical Cancer

• Kaposi's Sarcoma

as well as

Cancers of the immune system (lymphomas) which are more aggressive and difficult to treat in AIDS sufferers and which appear in light-skinned people as:

• round brown, reddish or purple spots which develop in the skin or in the mouth

In dark-skinned people:

• the spots are more pigmented

People with AIDS may experience phases of intense life-threatening illness followed by phases of normal functioning. However, many people are too debilitated by the symptoms of AIDS to hold steady employment or do household chores.

Less than 50 people first infected with HIV over 10 years ago have not developed symptoms of AIDS.

Studies are being undertaken to determine the causes for this, such as:

• Genetic make-up which may protect them from the effects of HIV

• Particular immune system characteristics

• Whether the infection was a less aggressive strain of the virus