A one-year-old HIV-infected boy has been abandoned in hospital by his mother. The baby was in hospital for observation and medication when his mother, who is also HIV-positive, disappeared. He is being cared for with the help of a relative because his father also cannot be traced. The baby was diagnosed at the age of three months, when he was found to have a poor appetite and an unsatisfactory rate of growth. He began receiving antiretroviral drugs and has recently made good progress. 'The child's appetite is quite good within the last few months. He's been doing okay,' said nurse Louise Wong Wat-chu, who is a project manager at the Society for Aids Care. Ms Wong said the mother did not appear to be distressed before she went missing. It is believed the woman - who is not from Hong Kong - may have left the SAR. Ms Wong said: 'I've seen the child growing and it's great to see. It's not that we can take away the disease, just being there providing support is enough.' She said the child's mother had discussed schooling for her child. The fear of disclosure was also raised, she said. 'It's up to the parents or guardians whether they'd like to disclose this information. 'But these children deserve the same kind of childhood as any child, they deserve to be loved, to be cared for and they deserve the same kind of opportunity to be educated.' She welcomed proposals for a universal screening of all pregnant women for HIV to reduce mother-to-child transmission. Eleven children in Hong Kong are recorded as HIV-positive, having caught the virus from their mothers during pregnancy, labour or breastfeeding. At least six are attending school, but only one school has been told about a child's condition. The incidence of HIV-infected children is likely to grow as the number of women of child-bearing age with HIV rises.
