Immunologic consequences of maternal HIV infection in the uninfected newborn

With the implementation of perinatal care strategies, the rate of vertical transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has decreased considerably worldwide.Despite the absence of viral loads, infants exposed to HIV not infected during ges-tation have higher morbidity and mortality rates.This is found to be related to infectious diseases by opportunistic microor-ganisms and lower response to vaccines in their first months of life compared to non-HIV exposed infants, suggesting alte-rations in their immune system.In this review we address different evidence of alterations in the innate and adaptive immune responses of HIV exposed infants that could explain their immune dysfunctionality.Additionally, this knowledge helps to understand how the immune system develops from the early stages of gestation and will serve to find management alter-natives and therapies for the welfare of the infants with this condition.