Page 66 - University of Pretoria Research Review 2017
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    COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
Globally an estimated 6.3 million children under 15 years died in 2017, mostly of preventable causes. The vast majority of these deaths – 5.4 million – occurred in
the first five years of life, with newborns accounting for around half of the deaths. Globally, in 2017, half of all deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa where 1 in 13 children died before their fifth birthday. In high- income countries, that number was 1 in 185. Within countries, disparities persist. Mortality rates among children under five in rural areas are, on average, 50% higher than among children in urban areas.
Ensuring the
health of South
African children
– HIV research
Ute Feucht and Theresa Rossouw, Department of Paediatrics, and Centre for Maternal, Foetal, Newborn and Child Health Care Strategies
South Africa has the largest HIV pandemic
in the world with approximately 7.9 million people infected with the virus. Pregnant women are especially vulnerable. Almost one-third of South African pregnant women are HIV-infected and can potentially pass the virus on to their infants during pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding. Left untreated,
up to 40% of infants will become infected through maternal transmission.
The introduction of potent combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) during pregnancy and breastfeeding has greatly improved the health of HIV-infected mothers
and significantly reduced the number of HIV-infected children. However, studies show that HIV-exposed-but- uninfected children potentially have significant additional health needs compared to their unexposed counterparts. They are more likely to develop infections, have metabolic abnormalities and may have special learning and development needs requiring additional care and educational support. It is currently unclear whether this is caused by the mother’s HIV infection and associated immunological changes, or whether cART toxicity may influence the infant’s development, specifically the maturation and function of the immune system. This
sets infants on a path towards suboptimal growth and development, as well as lifelong compromised immune function. With approximately 356 000 HIV-exposed infants born in South Africa every year, it is of critical importance to better understand this phenomenon.
A multidisciplinary research team at UP has embarked on a research project called the Siyakhula study. The
 Adapted from http://www.who.int/news-room/detail/18-09-2018-a-child-under-15-dies-every-5-seconds-around-the-world-


















































































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