CHAPTER ONE

                                                    INTRODUCTION

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is one of the most important emerging infections of this century. The HIV infection causes the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which is a systemic disorder characterized by deficiency in cellular immune responses. It is probably one of the diseases with multiple impacts on persons, families, communities and the entire society. Over 3 million children were noted to be living with HIV around the world at the end of 2013 (UNAIDS, 2014).

 Haematological complications have been documented to be the second most common causes of morbidity and mortality in HIV positive persons (Adetifa et al, 2006). A variety of haematological manifestations is seen at every stage of HIV and often life-threatening and impairs the quality of life of these patients (Coyle, 1997). Haematological abnormalities have been documented as strong independent predictors of morbidity and mortality in HIV infected children (Coyle, 1997).   Although it is not part of the criteria for initiating therapy nor used by the World Health Organization (WHO) for staging HIV, peripheral blood cell abnormalities in an abnormal haemogram are important prognostic tools for morbidity in HIV infection and AIDS (Coyle, 1997). Haematological manifestations in HIV infected patients often pose a great challenge in the comprehensive management of such patients and may cause symptoms that are life-threatening and impair the quality of life of these patients (Volberding, 2003; Baker, 2003; Levine, 2003). These complications in HIV infected ART-naïve patients usually result in poor ART- treatment outcome when they will eventually become eligible for ART and strongly predict poor prognosis and increase mortality (Liebman, 2008). These complications when present must be addressed appropriately and in good time.

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