Infants born to HIV infected mothers

Eighty infants born to HIV-infected mothers were studied prospectively at Children's Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand from February 1989 to June 1991. The risk factors for acquisition of HIV infection were analyzed in 33 mothers (41.25%) including a history of being sex workers and having husbands who had extramarital sexual contact (22.5% each), having other sexually transmitted diseases (20.0%) and being IV drug users (6.25%). All infants appeared clinically normal without congenital anomaly, 22.5% (18 of 80) were of low birth weight with 91.43% (64 of 70) positive for HIV-antibody at birth. On follow up 56.25% (9 of 16) seroreversed during age 6 to 15 months, whereas 5 infants who were HIV-Ab negative at birth remained Ab negative on follow up for up to 15 months. One of 49 infants who attended the follow up clinic had been suffering from recurrent diarrhea, failure to thrive and encephalopathy since 9 months old; she weighed 6.7 kg at 15 months of age and remained positive for HIV-Ab.