Abstract
Few studies have documented the contribution of HIV/AIDS to mortality among children under 15 years. From June 30 to October 19, 2001, all child deaths (n = 588) registered to the morgue and/or hospitals of the city of Pointe-Noire, Congo, were investigated using a combined approach including an interview of relatives and postmortem clinical and biological HIV diagnosis. Twenty-one percent of children were HIV positive, while 10.5% of deaths were attributed to AIDS. The most common causes of death in HIV-infected children were pneumonia (30%), pyrexia (22%), diarrhoea (16%) and wasting syndrome (16%). Infant mortality rate was estimated 6.3 times higher in children born to HIV-infected mothers compared to HIV-uninfected mothers. This study provides a direct measure of HIV/AIDS as impact on child mortality using a rapid and reliable method. A significant number of deaths could be prevented if HIV infection was diagnosed earlier and infants were provided with antiretroviral treatments.
Highlights
IntroductionThe relative importance of AIDS among all causes of death in children is difficult to evaluate because death registers are often incomplete, and causes of death are often imprecise or inaccurate [2]
In 2007, UNAIDS estimated that 2.0 million children under 15 years were living with HIV/AIDS, among whom 90% were in sub-Saharan Africa and that during the same year 270,000 children had died of AIDS [1].In developing countries, the relative importance of AIDS among all causes of death in children is difficult to evaluate because death registers are often incomplete, and causes of death are often imprecise or inaccurate [2]
This study evaluates, in a large central African city, the contribution of HIV/AIDS to mortality in children less than 15 years of age, relatively to other causes of death before the Highly Active Antiretroviral (HAART) era
Summary
The relative importance of AIDS among all causes of death in children is difficult to evaluate because death registers are often incomplete, and causes of death are often imprecise or inaccurate [2]. The Republic of the Congo was one of the first countries in Africa to be affected by the HIV epidemic, HIV prevalence in the adult population has remained relatively stable over the past 25 years. A small cohort study carried out during the first decade of the epidemic showed that infant mortality in children born to HIV-infected mothers exceeded 260 per thousand, while it was only 44 per thousand in children born to HIV-negative mothers [5]. As the definitive diagnosis of HIV in infants was not possible at the time, it is possible that this excess of mortality reflected both children’s HIV
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
