Nutrition Needs for HIV positive Children with TB

Hi There can never be a blanket nutritional prescription for individuals suffering from HIV. the nutritional requirements for PLWAs depend on their age, stage of infection, opportunistic disease profile, an individuals occupational environment and many others and they differ from one individual to the other. though in your case the opportunistic infection is TB, other factors apply like - do the children have diarrhea? - are they active children? do they require a lot of energy? - what is the stage of infection? the main reason why this is a tricky matter is the fact that some nutritional elements like zinc are required for the replication of the HIV, at the same time its a powerful immune booster. if an individual has diarrhea, he/she will require regular replenishment of the nutrients lost, but by how much...? my advice is for you to consult a doctor and a nutritionist and together develop an RDA table for your particular case. regards karanja

Hi Child with such complications should be put on high protein high caloric diet this is because both conditions increases basal metabolic rate and energy requirement by the body.Foods rich in Zinc should be consumed in plenty because zinc has anti-viral,anti-bacterial properties and also boosts immunity thank u

Dear Nerisa, My thoughts are as follows: With each clinical stage of the HIV/AIDS infection, there is some significant effect on the nutrition needs of an adult. My assumption is if for example an adult needs 10% extra energy in a day during the early /asymptomatic stage,then the same applies to a child.therefore: an HIV-infected child needs 10% more energy to maintain growth if the child is asymptomatic. if symptomatic,the energy needs increase by about 20%-30% more calories per day and if symptomatic and experiencing weight loss,the child needs between 50% to 100% more energy per day.