Examination of HIV in children can pass the following series of tests

At the end of 2013, the World Health Organization, aka WHO, stated that around 3.2 million children were living with AIDS. HIV or Human Immunodeficiency Virus will cause AIDS. This is a health condition that can be life threatening, especially for children who are vulnerable to HIV. How is HIV transmitted? Are there any tests to diagnose HIV in children? Check out the answer in the explanation below.

How do you know if a child has HIV infection?

HIV testing for toddlers and infants (18 months of age or less) is generally different from testing for HIV in adults. In an adult HIV test, the doctor will check with a test for HIV antibodies (a special protein produced by the immune system and infected with HIV). However, in some children and under five, the doctor will perform an HIV examination using a qualitative viral test.

This test is different from the quantitative viral test (viral load) which is used to measure how much HIV is in a person's blood. Conversely, qualitative tests function to find out whether the HIV virus is really found or not in children.

Antibody tests, which are commonly used to diagnose HIV, are not recommended for use in children. As the name suggests, this test detects antibodies that the body produces in reaction to HIV. In newborns, the baby's antibodies are still mixed with the mother's antibodies. For this reason, an antibody test can give a positive result if the mother's antibodies to the baby's blood are detected giving a false positive result. In other words, the results are not accurate.

These maternal antibodies (which are passed from mother to child) will slowly disappear, averaging about 1 to 2 years of age at a child. To minimize the risk of HIV infection, newborns are generally prescribed antiretroviral drugs for a period of 4 to 6 weeks.

Then, what HIV checks are carried out on infants and toddlers?

Usually, for tests in order to detect HIV in infants, doctors will perform a test called a test polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This test serves to detect the presence of HIV DNA, or an RNA assay test, to detect the presence of HIV RNA in the child's body.

Infants suspected of having HIV from birth are advised to check with virological testing as early as 6 weeks of age. The reason is, when a new baby is born and reaches 3 months of age, the accuracy of the test is generally close to 100 percent.

The PCR test may also help detect HIV in infants before their infected antibodies develop. If the first test results test positive for HIV, the doctor will recommend that antiretroviral therapy (ART) be started immediately.

ART therapy is done to reduce the amount of virus in the blood (viral load), it's good until the level of the virus is no longer detected. In addition, the baby will also take blood samples for further virological tests, namely qualitative tests (detecting the presence of viruses) and quantitative tests (detecting how many viruses).

How does the PCR test work?

The PCR test for HIV in children is carried out using certain enzymes. This enzyme functions to multiply the HIV virus that is thought to be in the blood sample.

Then the chemical reaction will indicate the presence or absence of the HIV virus. This marker of the virus is shaped like a ribbon (the band) which are measured and used to count the number of viruses. RNA testing results usually take a few days to a week.

Result viral load HIV in your child can be said to be undetectable if the number is below 40 to 75 copies in one blood sample. The exact number will depend on the laboratory analyzing your test. When the results viral load high, it means that there is a lot of HIV virus in the child's body. This also indicates that the child's immune system is failing to properly eradicate HIV.