Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Reuters NewMedia, Inc.; Monday December 1, 6:47 pm EST
Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

They said 25 percent of all new HIV infections in the United States were in people under age 20, and that up to 10 million children around the world will be infected over the next three years.

"AIDS hits children especially hard and children with the virus have fewer treatment options than adults," Mrs. Clinton told supporters of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatrics AIDS Foundation, which gave her an award to mark World AIDS Day.

"We particularly have to remain concerned because some of the latest drugs available to adults are not available to children," Mrs. Clinton added.

In August, President Bill Clinton proposed new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations that would force drug companies to study the effects of all drugs in children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says 80 percent of drugs sold in the United States carry no instructions on how to use them in children. Only 42 percent of the drugs most commonly used by children and adolescents have been tested on them.

"We have to do better, and we are in the direct process of doing so through the president and the Food and Drug Administration," Mrs. Clinton said.

There are 11 drugs currently available to treat AIDS, but only six of them are approved for children and have special formulations for children.

AIDS is the sixth leading cause of death among children between one and 4 years old in the United States. Experts estimate that 2.6 million children have been infected worldwide and that 1.4 million have died.

"The HIV infection rate in women and adolescents in this country is on the rise," actress Mary Steenburgen, who was named national spokeswoman for the Pediatric AIDS Foundation on Monday, told the group.

The group, named after its founder, wife of television star Paul Glaser, said HIV-positive children had special needs.

"Infected infants get sicker faster, their immune systems may deteriorate more quickly, and treatment may not work the same way or may have different complications," it said in a statement.

"Often, children experience more severe infections, and opportunistic infections, as well as central nervous system disorders which are rare in infected adults," it said.

Elizabeth Glaser, who died of AIDS in 1994, was infected by a blood transfusion while giving birth. The couple's daughter died as well, and their son Jake is battling the disease.

Paul Glaser criticized drug companies that argue it is too expensive and dangerous to test the highly toxic AIDS drugs in children.

"They claim it is unethical to test pediatric drugs while the real ethical question is the pharmaceutical industry's refusal to test drugs in children even though industry knows these drugs are given to children," he said.

Doctors say it is important for HIV-infected people to have access to many different drugs, as some of the drugs available do not work in some people, and the virus can quickly become resistant to drugs as well.

President Clinton did not address the controversy over AIDS drugs for children but urged children to learn about AIDS and protect themselves against it.

"Talk to each other. Share the facts with your friends, your peers," Clinton said in a videotaped message to the group, which included a class of third-graders.

Earlier, heads of the top agencies fighting AIDS, from the United Nations to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), urged governments to give more to fight the virus and spoke of new hope for preventing its spread.

"The epidemic is not over," said Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of the United Nations AIDS program, UNAIDS.

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