Fell Through the Cracks

Ignatius is an 8 year old boy who was seen last month with chronic diarrhea and cough.  He was very wasted and was found to have HIV.  He got the HIV from his mother during the pregnancy.  Routine HIV screening was not done on all pregnant women at that time.  His mother not only knew she had HIV but she has been on treatment for several years.  Despite being told the need to have her children tested she never got it done.

A Sick Ignatius

Despite all the effort put into education about HIV all too often we see a case like Ignatius where his HIV could have been prevented had his mother been tested during the pregnancy and received proper treatment.  It is hard to understand how his mother could come to the Hospital monthly for her own medication yet never get Ignatius tested as he has obviously been sick and doing poorly for some time.  It tells us we must try to improve the education about HIV and the need for testing.