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| HIV/AIDS CONT. | |
| Division of Public Health Services Disease Handbook for Childcare Providers | |
| Bureau of Infectious Disease Control REVISED –January 2018 | |
| HIV/AIDS | |
| The human immunodeficiency virus – or HIV for | |
| short – is the name of the virus that causes the | |
| condition known as AIDS (Acquired | |
| Immunodeficiency Syndrome). HIV attacks the | |
| body’s immune system and makes it unable to | |
| fight-off certain infections and cancers. | |
| How do children get HIV? | |
| The primary method that children become | |
| infected with HIV is through maternal | |
| transmission (i.e., the transfer of HIV) from | |
| mother-to-child during pregnancy, childbirth or | |
| breastfeeding. If medical treatment is us ed in | |
| combination with obstetric care and an elective | |
| caesarian section, transmission is reduced to an | |
| only 2% chance of infant transmission. | |
| Can HIV be spread in childcare | |
| settings? | |
| No documented cases of HIV infection have been | |
| traced to kissing, biting , playing with an infected | |
| child, or sharing food, eating utensils, toys or | |
| bathroom facilities. | |
| Sexual transmission of HIV | |
| With individuals that are positive, HIV is found in | |
| blood, mother’s milk, semen and vaginal | |
| secretions. HIV transmission as a resu lt of anal, | |
| oral, or vaginal intercourse has been well | |
| documented. HIV infection can also occur as a | |
| result of sexual abuse in children. | |
| How is HIV diagnosed? | |
| For adults rapid HIV tests are available and are | |
| used in NH. To confirm a rapid test, people | |
| should still receive a blood test. A blood test | |
| involves testing for the HIV antibody. However, | |
| use of HIV -antibody testing in children less than | |
| 18 months old may be confounded by the | |
| presence of maternally acquired HIV antibodies. | |
| Other laboratory tests such as viral culture, | |
| nucleic acid detection or antigen test are useful in | |
| determining HIV infection in these children. | |
| What are the symptoms? | |
| There are a wide range of signs and symptoms | |
| seen in HIV -infected children. Symptoms may | |
| include failure to thrive, weight loss, fever, mild | |
| or severe developmental delay, neurologic | |
| deterioration and severe, prolonged or recurrent | |
| infections. In general, the interval from HIV | |
| infection to the onset of symptoms is shorter in | |
| children than adults due to the developing and | |
| immature immune system. For this reason, HIV | |
| infected women should seek medical care and | |
| treatment early on in a pregnancy. | |
| Should children with HIV be enrolled in | |
| childcare? | |
| Yes. Studies continue to show no evidence of | |
| transmission of HIV within the childcare setting. | |
| HIV infected children should therefore be | |
| enrolled in daycare if their health, neurologic | |
| development, behavior and immune status are | |
| appropriate. The decision as to whether or not a | |
| child with known HIV infection may be enrolled | |
| in childcare should be made on a case -by-case | |
| basis. The decision is best made by the child’s | |
| healthcare provider. | |
| Reportable? | |
| Yes, both HIV infection and AIDS are reportable | |
| by New Hampshire law to the Division of Public | |
| Health Services, Bureau of Infectious Disease | |
| Control at (603) 271-4496. | |