title: Clinico-Immunological Profile of Children Infected with HIV Through Vertical Transmission, in Southern India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Karnataka, being "High Prevalent State" of southern India, the HIV infection among antenatal women has crossed 1%. There are very few reports available with CD4 count and stage wise clinical spectrum among children. The clinical spectrum among HIV infected infants and children vary in different areas of the world. Hence it is important to know the spectrum of opportunistic infections and their respective CD4 count among HIV infected children of our locality.
  
  
  METHODS
  The opportunistic infections among 31 paediatric seropositive patients were evaluated. These all patients were classified as per CDC guide lines into stage I, stage II, and stage III based on CD4 counts of > 1000cells/μl, 500-999 cells/μl,<500cells/μl respectively. The opportunistic infections were diagnosed by standard laboratory investigations. Clinical spectrum presented by each stage children was documented.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children in stage I were 5(16.1%),stage II 14(45.1%) and stage III 12(38.7%). Oral candidiasis (29%) was the commonest, followed by recurrent respiratory tract infection (25.8%), tubercular lymphadenitis (16.1%) and chronic diarrhoea (12.9%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study showed the children with higher CD4 count had few infections and children with lower CD4 count presented with multiple opportunistic infections. This study also showed vertical transmission as the sole mode of transmission.
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Microbiology, BLDE University's Shri.B.M.Patil Medical College Bijapur, Karnataka, India .
authors.forename: Praveen R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Shahapur
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Microbiology, Director Student Affairs, Manipal University , Manipal, India .
authors.forename: Indira
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bairy
keywords: CD4 Count; Clinical spectrum; Paediatric HIV; Southern India