Young People, Children & HIV - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How many children are known to be HIV+ in the UK?

As of December 2008, 2080 children aged 0-14 years have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in the UK. In addition, when young adults (those aged 15-19 years) are added, the number of children and young people aged 0-19 years diagnosed with HIV/AIDS is 4207.

2. How many children are living worldwide with HIV/AIDS?

UNAIDS estimates that globally there were 33,000,000 people living with HIV in 2007. Of this number, 2,000,000 were children under the age of 15 years.

3. How many children, born to HIV+ mothers in the UK, have HIV infection themselves?

Between 1986 and June 2009 12,263 children were born to HIV infected mothers. 15% of these children were infected with HIV.

4. How does a child become HIV+?

The majority of children contract the virus from mother to child transmission. Children can also be infected through blood factor treatment, blood/tissue transfer if these are not screened for HIV and through contaminted needles. In the UK mother to child transmission represented 2% (1232/56556) of all HIV infections in 2007.

5. Are all children born to an HIV+ mother automatically HIV+ themselves?

No. In the UK, effective interventions substantially reduce the risk of mother to child transmission, but these can only be offered to women who are aware of their HIV status. If an HIV infected pregnant woman is unaware of her infection status her baby has a roughly 25% chance of being infected. All babies born to positive mothers are born with antibodies to HIV, but this does not necessarily mean that they are infected themselves. Once born, sophisticated blood tests (such as the PCR tests, which look for genes of the virus in the blood) make it possible to tell at an early stage if a baby is infected. We can now be over 99% certain about the diagnosis by the time the child is 3 to 4 months old. In uninfected children, antibodies to HIV are usually undetectable by 15 to 18 months of age.

6. Is there any known cure for a child who is HIV+?

The virus cannot be eliminated completely from the system of an HIV infected child. Access to the most up-to-date treatments allows suppression of the virus and control of symptoms.

7. How long can a child born with HIV survive?

In the UK, life expectancy for children has improved and subsequently increased with the development of combination therapy. Today for example, adolescents who acquired HIV at birth have now reached their 20th birthday. Therefore, as treatment and research advances there is hope for a much improved quality of life. There is a small core of children who are "long-term non-progressors" aged between 12 and 16 years who have yet to start on any HIV therapy. This is a promising sign of healthy living in children and highlights the importance of a good nutritional diet. This gives us hope for a more optimistic future for today’s children infected by HIV. NB This is often dependant on the individuals’ inherited and genetic make-up.

8. What are some of the social issues for children living with HIV?

The social issues for children living with HIV are numerous and include but are not limited to:
• Possibly be caring for sick relatives at home
• Become responsible for themselves at an earlier age: often dressing themselves and walking          themselves to school
• May find that their parent is less able to play games that are physically demanding
• May find that their parent is less able to attend events at school such as school productions and sporting events.
• May have a stressful home life
• May be on medication themselves
• Younger children may face more than one bereavement
• Issues of adoption or fostering may be on the horizon
• Their family may have little money, perhaps because a parent is too ill to work
• Children may feel powerless / not involved in decision making
• Secrecy: Children often have to keep HIV status a secret at school (fear of stigma)
• For infected siblings, the uninfected child often feels jealous for not receiving all the attention.

Data sources:

Joint UN program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 2008 report on Global AIDS epidemic:

http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/HIVData/GlobalReport/2008/2008_Global_report.asp

National Study of HIV in Pregnancy and Childhood:

http://www.nshpc.ucl.ac.uk/

Survey of Prevalent HIV Infections Diagnosed (SOPHID):

http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1203064766492

New HIV Diagnosis Data:

http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1237970242135