Babies, children and adolescents

  • There are a number of cases of vertically infected infants who are untested, untreated and survive into adolescence.
  • UK guidelines recommend that any child thought to be at significant risk of HIV infection, including any child with an HIV-positive parent or sibling, should be tested.
  • If parents refuse consent to test, the issues are complex, but the overriding concern should be the best interests of the child.
This content was checked for accuracy at the time it was written. It may have been superseded by more recent developments. NAM recommends checking whether this is the most current information when making decisions that may affect your health.