Annabelle felt sad and nervous. She was waiting for the results of a test. It was not a test from school. She was in a doctor's office. She had been tested for a virus called HIV.
Annabelle is 11 years old. She lives in Uganda. Both of her parents died from AIDS. AIDS is a disease that comes from the HIV virus. Annabelle does have the HIV virus. She got it from her mother when her mother breastfed her.
At least 110,000 children in Uganda are living with HIV and AIDS. At first, they have no symptoms. Later, they get fevers and coughs. They feel as though they have the flu. HIV makes their immune system weak. Their bodies can no longer fight infections. When they get AIDS, they can get many infections. People with AIDS die from these infections. There is no cure for HIV and AIDS.