
During the past few years, the global burden of pediatric HIV infection is becoming a challenge for the healthcare industry. According to the World Health Organization, it is estimated that around 3.2 million people were living with HIV infection at the end of 2013. Majority of children acquire HIV infection from their HIV-infected mothers during pregnancy, breastfeeding or birth. Effective treatments can reduce the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission. However, in most of the resource-limited countries where the burden of HIV is high, the treatment for pediatric HIV infection is still not widely available. Pediatric HIV infection causes immunologic deterioration, opportunistic infections, and cancers. Diagnosis of pediatric HIV infection includes viral antibodies and virologic nucleic acid amplification tests. Viral antibodies are given to children above 18 months whereas virologic nucleic acid amplification tests (such as PCR) are performed in children less than 18 months. Combination of antiretroviral drugs is given for the treatment of pediatric HIV infection. The general pathophysiology of pediatric HIV infection is similar to that in adults however, the clinical presentations, the method of infection and treatments often differ.