AIDS AMONG CHILDREN IN
THE UNITED STATES,
1996
sof September 30, 1996, a total of 566,002 acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome (AIDS) cases, including 7,472 cases among children aged
<13 years, had been reported to the CDC by state and territorial health departments. Of the 7,472 children reported with AIDS, 58% were African-American, 23% were Hispanic, 18% were white and 1% were of other racial/ethnic groups. Among all U.S. children with AIDS, 6,790 (90%) acquired HIV perinatally, 370 (5%) through receipt of contaminated blood transfusions, 231 (3%) through receipt of contaminated blood products for coagulation disorders, and 121 (2%) had no reported risk factor.
Among children
with perinatally acquired AIDS, the median age at diagnosis
was 18 months. Approximately 80% of all children with AIDS were
diagnosed with the disease before the age of five. The highest
number of reported cases were from New York (1,901), Florida
(1,199), New Jersey (661), California (524), Puerto Rico (347)
and Texas (296); combined, these accounted for 66% of all AIDS
cases reported among children.
exposures for HIV infection among the mothers of the 6,750 children
with perinatally acquired AIDS included injecting-drug use (IDU)
(41%), sexual contact with a partner with or at risk for HIV/AIDS
(34%), and receipt of contaminated blood or blood products (2%);
for 13%, no risk was identified.
the estimated annual number of perinatally acquired AIDS cases
declined 27%. During this time, the estimated annual number
of cases declined 39% among white, 26% among African-American
and 25% among Hispanic children. The proportionate decrease
in the number of children with perinatally acquired AIDS from
the six areas reporting the highest number of cases was greater
than the decrease for all remaining areas and for all areas
combined.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
MMWR 1996 November 22; 45: 1005-1010.
