children s health issues
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection in Children and Adolescents
Introduction
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a viral infection that progressively destroys certain white blood cells and makes people more vulnerable to other infections and some cancers and causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is caused by the HIV virus, which can be transmitted through sexual contact, blood transfusion, and, in young children, is typically acquired from the mother at the time of birth. Signs of infection in children include slowed growth, enlargement of lymph nodes in several areas of the body, developmental delay, recurring bacterial infections, and lung inflammation. The diagnosis is based on blood tests for HIV infection. Anti-HIV medications (called antiretroviral therapy or ART) can control the effects of HIV infection and allow children to live without complications. Children are treated with the same medications as adults. Pregnant women with HIV infection can prevent transmitting the infection to their newborn by taking antiretroviral medications, feeding their newborn formula rather than breast milk, and, for some women, undergoing a cesarean delivery. See also . There are two human immunodeficiency viruses: HIV-1 HIV-2 Infection with HIV-1 is by far more common than infection with HIV-2 in almost all geographic areas. Both progressively destroy certain types of white blood cells called Lymphocytes , which are an important part of the body's immune defenses. When these lymphocytes are destroyed, the body becomes susceptible to attack by many other infectious organisms. Many of the symptoms and complications of HIV infection, including death, are the result of these other infections and not of the HIV infection itself. HIV infection may lead to various troublesome infections with organisms that do not ordinarily infect healthy people. These are called opportunistic infections because they take advantage of a weakened immune system. Opportunistic infections may result from viruses, parasites, fungi, and sometimes bacteria. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)is the most severe form of HIV infection. A child with HIV infection is considered to have AIDS when at least one complicating illness develops or when there is a significant decline in the body's ability to defend itself from infection. Only about 1% of the people infected with HIV in the United States have been diagnosed as children or young adolescents. HIV infection in children has now become rare, because of greater testing and treatment of pregnant women infected with HIV. Treatment with antiretroviral medications before and during birth can help prevent transmission from mother to child. Although about 9,000 cases of HIV infection were reported in children and young adolescents between 1983 and 2015, in 2019, fewer than 60 new cases were diagnosed in children under 13 years of age. Although the number of infants and children with HIV infection living in the United States continues to decrease, the number of adolescents and young adults with HIV infection is increasing. The number is increasing because children who were infected as infants are surviving longer and new cases are developing in adolescents and young adults, particularly in young men who have sex with men. In 2019, about 36,000 new cases of HIV infection in the United States were diagnosed. Of these new cases, 20% were among adolescents and young adults 13 to 24 years of age (the majority of whom were 18 years of age or older). Worldwide, HIV is a much more common problem among children. In 2021, about 1.7 million children under 14 years of age had HIV infection. Each year, about 160,000 more children are infected and about 100,000 children die. Programs created to deliver antiretroviral therapy (ART) to pregnant women and children have reduced the annual number of new childhood infections and childhood deaths by 33 to 50%. However, infected children still do not receive ART nearly as often as adults. 