More than 90 percent of reported HIV cases in children in the United States are due to perinatal acquisition, says Sandra K. Burchett, MD. and Philip A. Pizzo, Ph.D. in their study published in "Infectious Diseases" Journal in June 2003. Many HIV-infected babies appear normal at birth, but if left untreated, approximately 15 percent of them develop serious symptoms, and many of these children die before their first birthday, says the March of Dimes. If treated, 95 percent of HIV-positive infants survive, and most are free of serious symptoms much of the time. Yet, even those who survive often develop at a slower rate than healthy children and frequently suffer from childhood infections.
Failure to Thrive
Failure to gain weight or grow according to standardized growth curves is often referred to as a "failure to thrive." It can be among the first signs of HIV infection in infants, according to the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs. An infant is first likely to show slow weight gain or might even lose weight. Later, the linear growth, or height of the infant is affected. The last manifestation of failure to thrive is the slow growth of the brain as measured by the circumference of the head. Severe failure to thrive can indicate rapid disease progression.
Failure to Reach Developmental Milestones
In infants, HIV may manifest as a failure to reach development milestones or as a loss of developmental milestones that the child had already reached, says the HIV Clinical Resource. Delays in language and motor development, for example, are common among HIV-infected infants. Cynthia Chase, Ph.D., and colleagues studied 595 infants that were HIV positive or negative in their study published in the journal "Pediatrics" in August 2000. The authors found significant differences in cognitive and motor development between these two groups and thought these differences were evident by the time the infants were four months old.
Neurologic Problems
According to the HIV Clinical Resource, since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in 1996, the rates of neurologic dysfunction in HIV-positive children has dropped from nearly 50 percent to approximately 5 to 10 percent. Neurologic symptoms are also tend to be identified earlier and, as a result, tend to be less severe. Yet, HIV-positive children can have several neurologic problems, such as seizures and walking difficulties, says the March of Dimes.
Abnormally frequent childhood infections
According to Sandra K. Burchett, MD., and Philip A. Pizzo, Ph.D., the primary signs of HIV during the first couple of years of a child's life are pneumonia, recurrent bacterial infections, HIV encephalopathy and candidal diaper rash. Also, ear infections and upper respiratory infections are common among HIV-infected infants. All of these can also be found in children who do not have HIV infections, but HIV-positive children suffer from them more frequently, and the symptoms tend to be more severe. An infant with HIV is at heightened risk for serious illnesses from common bacteria. This makes it important for infants with HIV infections to receive all routine childhood immunizations along with some additional ones, states the March of Dimes.
References
- Netwellness.org: HIV in Infants and Children
- International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs:Growth Monitoring in HIV-exposed Infants
- HIV Clinical Resource: Neurologic Complications in HIV-Infected Children and Adolescents
- Infectious Diseases: HIV Infection in Infants,Children, and Adolescents
- March of Dimes: HIV and AIDS in Pregnancy
