Epidemiological profile of children infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Abstract

Newborns exposed to the virus need to have clinical follow-up from birth, maintaining control and permanent health care in specialized multiprofessional services that meet the specific demands of their serological condition. Thus, the aim of the study was to analyze the epidemiological profile of children with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome attended at a Reference Center in the city of Belém, Pará, Brazil. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional epidemiological study with qualitative and quantitative variables on the profile of infected children from secondary data, in the period from 2014 to 2019 in the State of Pará. 1,270 children exposed to the virus by vertical transmission, between 0 and 12 years of age, were identified, 06 (0.47%) of which tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and 60 (4.72%) children who developed the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, with an average time of 3.5.7 years for disease progression and 8 years for death. In view of the results obtained, it is clear that there is a need to expand health programs in primary care, aiming at health promotion and prevention, as qualified care generates improvements in the quality of life of patients, since most of the transmission is vertical. Thus, it is necessary to carry out further studies in the area, aiming to improve the fight against the disease and reach in more detail the epidemiological profile of HIV/AIDS in children in the State of Pará.