What is the life expectancy for an infant who is HIV Positive or has full-blown AIDS?

Question

I need to know because my friend is adopting a child who has tested positive and she will be bringing him home from Ethiopia soon. I don't want to ask her, but I want to know what she will be dealing with. I want to be the best friend I can be to her as she cares for such a sick child!

Answer 1

If the child is HIV positive, he or she won't last long into his or her teens. If they already have AIDS, then probably not past five or six. These are estimates, the actual lifespan may differ by a number of years.

Answer 2

HIV-negative: no antibodies have been produced. HIV-positive: antibodies have been produced after infection with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). To help eliminate the risk of a false-positive HIV screening test, a confirmatory test (Western Blot) is run. If the result of the WB is inconclusive, an HIV RNA PCR (viral load) may be run as well. AIDS: when an HIV-positive person's CD4+ (a specific type of white blood cell) count falls below 200 / ml. The term "full-blown AIDS" isn't used anymore, as there's no such thing as a person with "half-blown" AIDS. Once a person is diagnosed with AIDS, that person carries the diagnosis forever, even if the CD4+ count rises over 200 / ml. And, contrary to the others' answers, many, many people are living longer than 2-3 years after being diagnosed.