HIV
HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus, and children become infected usually as a result of direct transmission from their infected mother either during pregnancy, or via breast-feeding. In some parts of the world many children are born HIV-positive. The rate at which the illness progresses to produce AIDS depends on the degree of immunosuppression, which may be slowed using specific anti-viral therapy, and prophylactic treatment to prevent some of the complications (such as antibiotics to stop pneumonia caused by pneumocystis carnii) may be helpful. The recent introduction of (voluntary) HIV screening in pregnancy may allow the earlier detection - and treatment - of children with HIV.
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