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Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A child infected with HIV is likely to develop AIDS, but HIV and AIDS are rare conditions in children in Australia.
Causes
A child with AIDS usually gets the disease from his infected mother, either during pregnancy or birth. In the past there was a risk of contracting AIDS through transfusions of contaminated blood, but all blood is now carefully screened for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS.
A child infected with HIV is likely to develop AIDS, but the symptoms might take months or years to develop. The use of antiretroviral drugs can put this off even longer. Also, newer drugs given during pregnancy and birth, and to an affected newborn, can dramatically decrease the chances of the virus being passed from mother to child (from 35% to less than 2%).
Because HIV can be passed on through breastmilk, breastfeeding isn’t recommended in first-world countries for mothers who are HIV positive.
The HIV virus spreads through the exchange of human fluids, such as blood or semen. You can’t get it through direct body contact or by kissing. There’s no danger of your child getting HIV by coming into normal contact with another child or adult who has HIV, unless there's an exchange of body fluids.
Symptoms
Once a child is infected, the virus stops the immune system from working the way it should. Symptoms of HIV infection in children can include:
- prolonged fever
- failure to gain weight, or weight loss
- generalised swollen lymph glands
- chronic diarrhoea
- recurrent ear infections
- chronic thrush
- chronic rash.
Once HIV develops into AIDS, a child is prone to developing life-threatening diseases. These diseases include pneumonia, recurrent serious bacterial infections, brain infections and certain cancers (such as primary brain lymphoma).
Treatment
At the moment, there’s no cure or vaccine for AIDS. But certain newer drugs show promise, and an HIV-infected child now faces a chronic disease rather than a disease that will kill her sooner rather than later.
A family who has a child with AIDS needs medical support from a team of different experts working together in a specialised unit. If you need further information, contact your doctor. Each state has organisations that provide information and support to people living with AIDS.
HIV-positive children need to take antiretroviral drugs. You can protect these children from infections by keeping immunisations up to date and using antibiotics. If they do get an infection, it needs to be identified early and treated aggressively.
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- Last updated10-06-2011
- Last reviewed22-05-2011
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