Infections and other causes of death in HIV-infected children in Africa.
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic has dramatically reversed improvements in infant mortality and child survival in sub-Saharan Africa. However, accurate information on the specific causes of HIV-related morbidity and mortality arising from vertical transmission is infrequent and is constrained in resource-poor settings by infrastructure and local access to health care. Such knowledge is essential to improve clinical management of HIV-infected children in Africa. In this review, a global overview of the clinical aspects of HIV infection in children is given. Factors influencing HIV disease progression, morbidity and mortality are discussed from studies on a cohort of HIV-infected children that were followed at an orphanage in Nairobi between 1999 and 2001. These parameters are contrasted with available data on HIV-infected children residing in community settings in Africa.
Chakraborty
Rana
R
Paediatric Infectious Diseases Unit, 5th Floor Lanesborough Wing, St George's Hospital, Blackshaw Road, Tooting, London SW17 0QT, UK. ranachakraborty@hotmail.com
D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000401:mortality*; D017954:Africa South of the Sahara / Q000453:epidemiology; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D009026:Mortality; D015996:Survival Rate; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000401:mortality