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The Continuing
Tragedy:
Children with AIDS
The number of persons infected with HIV in Minnesota seems to
be increasing less quickly than previously projected. According
to the Minnesota Department of Health, public education programs
and sophisticated medical techniques have begun to change the
shape of the AIDS epidemic in positive ways.
However, according to Minnesota's Center for Health
Statistics, 1,400 Minnesotans have been diagnosed as carrying the
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and an additional 679 have
been identified as people with AIDS (PWA) as of mid-March, 1990.
SIXTY of the 679 are children.
As medical research continues, the victims will live longer
and require more kinds of health and community services over a
longer period of time.
Children can acquire the HIV virus from a mother who is
infected either through her blood system or in the birth canal at
delivery. Pediatric specialists estimate that 30 to 50% of
infants born to HIV positive mothers will contract the virus.
Diagnosis is difficult because, although children born to
infected mothers may test positive for HIV during the first year,
only a small portion of them will remain positive.
The life expectancy of a child born with the virus is, as yet,
unknown. Children who show AIDS symptoms before the age of two
have a poor prognosis and many die within a year. Other HIV
positive children do not become sick until five or six years of
age and, with aggressive medical treatment, may live for a number
of years. An estimated 93% of children with AIDS suffer
developmental disabilities, resulting in some degree of physical
and/or mental impairment.
Providing children with accurate information about AIDS,
helping them to develop and use the skills necessary to enable
them to make healthy decisions should be our top priority.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, no cases are
known to have been transmitted in school, day-care, or
foster-care settings. HIV is not transmitted by casual contact
and all the usual child-caring activities including child
clean-ups of urine, vomit, sweat and tears, do NOT put a worker
at risk. If the clean-up is blood, and/or a caretaker's hands
have cuts, it is suggested that workers use protective barriers,
such as gloves.
Prevention through education is the most effective weapon in
the war against this virus. Currently, 80% of the States have
mandatory AIDS education programs. Three national organizations:
Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America; the Salvation Army; and the
YWCA are participating in a project to develop models for AIDS
prevention programs which can be implemented on the local level.
The Centers for Disease Control reported in 1987 that the
majority of pediatric cases (77%) are infants infected in the
prenatal period. Researchers also suspect that the virus can be
transmitted in breast milk.
AIDS IS CAUSED by the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP)
are the two most common diseases diagnosed in people with AIDS
(PWA). Both are opportunistic, meaning that they affect people
with impaired immune systems. Many other diseases also affect
people with AIDS. People infected with HIV maybe without symptoms
for many years but they are infectious whether or not they have
symptoms. Transmission of HIV occurs through the exchange of
semen, blood, or vaginal fluid during 1) vaginal, anal, and/or
oral sexual contact with an infected person or 2) exchange of
blood, primarily through the sharing of intravenous drug needles.
Infection can also be transmitted from an infected mother to her
child before and during birth. Evidence also shows that infection
can be transmitted through breast milk.
HIV is not spread through casual
contact.
Health care and human services professionals are becoming
involved in specialized and on-the job training to eliminate the
myths and present the facts about AIDS. Local groups and
religious organizations are also participating in relevant
education efforts.
Nationally, the number of teenagers with HIV jumped 43%
between July, 1988 and August, 1989, according to the Centers for
Disease Control. The numbers reflect only reported cases; the
actual number of teenagers infected may be much higher.
Adolescents most at risk are those who begin sexual activity
early and have multiple partners. Also, drugs and alcohol can
distort judgment in social situations resulting in behavior that
puts them at risk for infection. Many programs designed to
educate teenagers about AIDS are being implemented.
One particularly promising effort involves peer education.
Behaviors which place teens at risk for AIDS are often those
which are most affected by peer pressure. Teens are more likely
to discuss issues related to sexuality and drug use with their
friends than with a parent or teacher. The Center for Population
Options Teens for Aids Program (TAP), a model using a peer
mediated approach, is one of several education programs which
involve teens teaching teens.
AIDS Resources
"AIDS and the Education of Our Children, A Guide for
Parents and Teachers," sets outs policy guidelines from the
U.S. Department of Education. U.S. Government Printing Office:
1988206-767. Available from the Consumer Information Center,
Department ED, Pueblo, Colorado 81009.
"AIDS Prevention Guide for Parents and Other Adults
Concerned About Youth" is a packet of educational handouts
for elementary, middle school, junior, and senior high school
children. Free copies are available from the Department of Health
and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease
Control. Write to the National AIDS Information Clearinghouse at
P.O. Box 6003, Rockville, Maryland 20850 or call 1-800458-5231.
Other Sources
FOCUS AIDS Health Project, Box 0884, San Francisco, California
94143- 0884.
Association for the Care of Children's Health, 3615 Wisconsin
Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20016. (202/244-1801).
The Center for Population Options, 1012 14th Street, N.W.,
Suite 1200, Washington, D.C. 20005. (202/347-5700).
The Centers for Disease Control AIDS Hotline at
1-800-342-AIDS.
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1990 issue (4th of 4
issues)