False negative HIV serology in a case of congenital/perinatal AIDS.

A case of congenital or perinatal Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), the first recognized case of mother to child human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection resulting in the full-blown syndrome in Australia, is reported. The baby who died in November 1985 was diagnosed retrospectively after the child's father had presented with Category A disease (Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia) in May 1987. This case illustrates some of the difficulties that may be experienced in the serological diagnosis of HIV in young children and foreshadows the effects of spread of HIV in the heterosexual community.