Drugs fail because the virus becomes resistant to them. This can happen if people take them erratically or stop taking them. Resistance sets in with adults, but more slowly.
But part of the problem, say Nathan Ford and Alexandra Calmy, is that the drugs available are not tested on children or turned into formulations that are easy for children to take. The doctors work for Médecins sans Frontières, which treats some of the 2 million children living with HIV, who were infected during childbirth – most of them in the developing world. Half of the children born with HIV die before their second birthday, they point out.
Tuesday, 21 June 2011 08:44
HIV study claims one in eight children resistant to drugs
One in eight children born with HIV becomes resistant to the three main classes of drugs used to suppress the virus within five years of starting treatment.The first major study of drug resistance in young people, which looked at 1,000 European children born with HIV, raises questions about the suitability of anti-retroviral drugs for the young.
