Children With HIV Might Benefit From Immunization.(Brief Article)

2001 SEP 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) --

Results of a hospital-based study in Malawi suggest that children with HIV infection could potentially benefit from vaccination against rotaviruses, the main cause of severe, dehydrating diarrhea in infants and young children throughout the world.

An estimated 500,000-870,000 children die every year from rotavirus diarrhea in less-developed countries. Diarrheal disease is a leading cause of illness and death in HIV infected children in these areas; however, use of rotavirus vaccines in children with HIV infection is not recommended, pending further research into the outcomes of children infected with both diseases.

Nigel Cunliffe and colleagues from Liverpool University, U.K., and the Wellcome Trust Research Laboratories, College of Medicine, Blantyre, Malawi, examined the effect of HIV infection on the clinical presentation and outcome of rotavirus gastroenteritis in Malawian children. They reported their findings in the August 16, 2001, issue of the Lancet.

Children younger than five years who were treated for acute gastroenteritis at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre were enrolled. Those with rotavirus diarrhea, with and without HIV infection, were followed up for up to four weeks after hospital discharge. A total of 786 inpatients (average age eight months, 34% of whom were HIV-1 infected), and 400 outpatients (average age nine months, 16% of whom were HIV-1 ...