[Diffusion of HIV infection in children]

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has spread to almost every country so as to show the characteristics of a pandemic. According to WHO estimates, there are over 10 million infected subjects all over the world of whom two thirds are believed to be Africans. The infection is transmitted mainly heterosexually, and therefore spreads especially among young people, hence the growing number of seropositive infants, particularly in Africa. In certain European nations including France, Spain, and Italy, the percentage of infected babies is associated with maternal drug addiction whereas in Romania pediatric transmission is horizontal. According to WHO estimates, AIDS will become the main cause of death for children in many African and American Countries in the next few years. In addition, there will be a considerable number of orphans below the age of 10 whose number is expected to rise to 10 million in the course of the nineties.