Pneumonia

Pneumonia is the leading cause of hospital admissions and death in HIV-infected children and it presents in the same way in both infected and uninfected children. The difference is that bacterial pneumonia occurs repeatedly in children with HIV infection.

Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) is another cause of pneumonia in HIV-infected children that you need to know about. It occurs most commonly during the first year of life. PCP is one of the major causes of severe pneumonia and death in HIV-infected infants. To protect HIV-infected infants and children from developing PCP and other infections you should give cotrimoxazole. All HIV-exposed infants (infants born from HIV-infected mothers) should also receive cotrimoxazole prophylaxis against PCP from six weeks of age until it is established that the child is not HIV-infected.