More than two decades have passed since this devastating infection was first identified. We have come from a time when no diagnosis could be made and there was no treatment, to an era when the development of multiple therapeutic agents and advances in the prevention of HIV infection is commonplace in the developed world. Foremost amongst these accomplishments is our ability to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV infection. Seldom is it possible to chronicle such advances in knowledge, which materially affect the lives of thousands of people on a daily basis. All of this speaks to the commitment of scientists and care providers and the rapid evolution of information and technology. There is, however, a pervasive recurrent theme of needing to advocate for the health of children infected and affected by HIV infection.

This handbook provides accessible information at a time when the developed world has succeeded in dramatically decreasing the number of children who acquire infection from their mothers. The need for this information is greater now than ever before. First, because the evolution of information continues at a rapid rate. Second, because the complexity of treatment requires expertise and access to the most current information. Third, because the numbers of HIV-infected children have decreased in the USA and the probability that a physician will have cumulative experience with substantive numbers of these children has diminished.