Relation of the Course of HIV Infection in Children to the Severity of the Disease in Their Mothers at Delivery

Several analyses of data from pediatric registries 1 and retrospective studies 2 – 4 have suggested that the progression of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) follows two patterns in children who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by their mothers. In the first year of life, severe immunodeficiency develops in 15 to 20 percent of infected infants, with serious infections or encephalopathy associated with HIV infection. The other 80 to 85 percent of infected children have a form of disease that progresses more slowly and is probably similar to that observed in adults. Viral characteristics in infants appear to be related . . .