Infants and HIV

In 1998 alone, it is estimated that there were 590,000 new infections among children under the age of 15, and 2.5 million new infections among children and youth in the 15-24 year old age group. Combined, this translates into 8500 new infections among children and young people every day. HIV infection ranks sixth among the leading causes of death for US children 1 to 14 years of age. .
             During my research I was really interested in finding out where HIV and AIDS came from, unfortunately, I was not able to find a definitive answer. Many experts believe that AIDS was present in the United States, Europe, and Africa for several decades or longer before the earliest cases appeared in 1980 and 1981. French and American scientists first identified HIV in 1984, but the human immunodeficiency virus did not get its name until 1986 (Consumer guidelines from the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) 1994).
             The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has a lead role in research devoted to children infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
             Almost all HIV-infected children acquire the virus from their mothers before or during birth, a process called perinatal transmission. In the United States, approximately 25 percent of pregnant HIV-infected women not receiving AZT therapy have passed on the virus to their babies.
             Most perinatal transmission, causing an estimated 50 to 80 percent of infections in children, probably occurs late in pregnancy or during birth. Although the precise mechanisms are unknown, scientists think HIV may be transmitted when maternal blood enters the fetal circulation, or by mucosal exposure to virus during labor and delivery. The role of the placenta in maternal-fetal transmission is unclear and the focus of ongoing research.
             The risk of perinatal transmission is significantly increased if the mother has advanced HIV disease, increased levels of HIV in her bloodstream, or fewer numbers of the immune system cells, CD4+ T cells, that are the main targets of HIV.