Thai Journal of Pediatrics 1999;38:119-27.

One hundred and sixteen children, who were born to HIV-I infected mothers between July 1993 and December 1996, were followed at Chiang Mai University Hospital. The HIV-1 status of ninety-four non-breast fed children was determined by death from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or serologic evidence of infection by age 18 months and revealed a mother to infant transmission rate of 31% (95% C1 22%-40%). Sexually transmitted diseases in the mother during pregnancy was the only characteristic associated with significant increased transmission rate. Other risks, including symptoms of HIV-1 infection in the mother, rupture of membranes longer than 4 hours, vaginal delivery and small for gestational age, were more frequent in the transmitted group than in non-transmitted group, but the difference was not statistically significant. The first symptoms of HIV-1 infected children included hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, generalized lymphadenopathy and dermatitis. These nonspecific findings were found in children between 1 to 6 months of age. Clinical evaluation of infected children at 18 months after birth revealed that 13 (45%) children had died, 14 (48%) children were symptomatic and only 2 (7%) children were asymptomatic. The causes of death were pneumonia (10 children), cytomega!ovirus peritonitis (1), Salmonella septicemia (1) and diarrhea (1).