Nairobi — The Government has lowered the minimum age at which infants exposed to HIV/Aids infection can be screened for the virus and placed on life-prolonging drugs.

It has recommended that the special testing for the virus in babies born to infected mothers be started at the sixth week immunisation visit to the clinic -- down from 18 months.

Those found to be infected should be placed on antiretrovirals to improve their chances of survival, the director of medical services, Dr F. Kimani, said in a circular to medical and heath personnel across the country.

Body positive

"All infants born to HIV-infected mothers or found to be anti-body-positive (HIV-exposed children) should be offered cotrimoxazole prophylaxis from six months onwards," he said in the circular dated September 29, 2008, a copy of which was obtained by the Sunday Nation.

However, infants and young children whose HIV exposure status is not known at the time of the first visit to the health facility, should be offered anti-body-based routine testing and advised on feeding options.

It is recommended also that children whose parents or siblings are enrolled for HIV care be offered HIV testing.

The circular titled Change on Paediatric ART (antiretroviral therapy) recommendations; Early Initiation of ART in infants, has been copied to all provincial directors of medical services and their public health and sanitation counterparts as well as all medical officers of health and officers in charge of government and mission health facilities.

The ministry has started training medical staff involved in HIV/Aids diagnosis on the new method to be used in getting samples from the infants and testing them.

HIV/Aids Initiative. In line with the revised paediatric recommendations, the ministry has directed that all infants and children already on ART continue with the current regimens unless there are signs that warrant changes.

But infants and children being introduced to ART should henceforth be started on new recommended national first-line ART regimens, the director says.

Dr Kimani says paediatric HIV remains a major health and development challenge in Kenya, where about 150,000 are infected.

There are more than 34,000 new infections annually, resulting in 30,000 Aids-related deaths. At the same time, access to treatment for children has continued to lag behind despite efforts to scale up HIV diagnosis.

Adverse outcome

"This trend clearly illustrates the very adverse outcome of HIV/Aids for children, in whom, without intervention, more than half will die before their second birthdays and 80 per cent will die by five years of age," Dr Kimani adds.

The Government must, therefore, make early identification and treatment of paediatric HIV as a top priority as it has been proved that when children receive ART and other necessary care, 95 per cent survive beyond six months, and 90 per cent beyond two years.

"I wish to reiterate that these directives apply to all health facilities, including government and non-government facilities," he points out.

"We hope that, through this initiative, HIV-infected children will be identified early and initiated on treatment early."