1. Beyond early infant diagnosis: case finding strategies for identification of HIV-infected infants and children.
- Author
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Ahmed S, Kim MH, Sugandhi N, Phelps BR, Sabelli R, Diallo MO, Young P, Duncan D, and Kellerman SE
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Child, Child Health Services standards, Child, Orphaned, Child, Preschool, Early Diagnosis, Female, Health Services Accessibility, Humans, Immunization Programs, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Mass Screening methods, Population Surveillance methods, Pregnancy, Public Policy, Social Support, Vulnerable Populations, Young Adult, Child Health Services organization & administration, HIV Infections diagnosis, HIV Infections prevention & control, HIV Infections transmission, Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical prevention & control, Pregnancy Complications, Infectious prevention & control, Social Work methods
- Abstract
There are 3.4 million children infected with HIV worldwide, with up to 2.6 million eligible for treatment under current guidelines. However, roughly 70% of infected children are not receiving live-saving HIV care and treatment. Strengthening case finding through improved diagnosis strategies, and actively linking identified HIV-infected children to care and treatment is essential to ensuring that these children benefit from the care and treatment available to them. Without attention or advocacy, the majority of these children will remain undiagnosed and die from complications of HIV. In this article, we summarize the challenges of identifying HIV-infected infants and children, review currently available evidence and guidance, describe promising new strategies for case finding, and make recommendations for future research and interventions to improve identification of HIV-infected infants and children.
- Published
- 2013
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