The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has affected millions of people around the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The number of infections occurring in infants in 2014 was estimated at 220,000. Of this total, approximately ninety percent of infections in infants are acquired before delivery, during labor and breastfeeding. Such infections are called mother-to-child transmission of HIV, sometimes called vertical transmission of HIV. Due to the high risk of death before age 2 years among HIV-infected infants and given the availability of pediatric antiretroviral therapy in many resource-limited settings, WHO recommends that national programs establish the ability to provide early virological testing of infants for HIV. So, in line with this, the article will detail all the details of early detection of HIV in infants and the role that the medical laboratory scientist plays in detecting the virus. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayAmong the many methods available for the detection and diagnosis of HIV in infants, the WHO recommends polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) on whole blood or on a dried blood spot is ideal. The polymerase chain reaction was invented in 1985 by Kary B. Mullis and allowed scientists to make millions of copies of a rare DNA sample. Research by Owens and Dr. Mark Holodniy in the May 1 issues of the Annals of Internal Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that PCR of RNA on plasma or DBS or p24 antigen ultra- sensitive on plasma or DBS (WHO, 2010) is the alternative for detecting HIV in infants. Detection of HIV RNA provides information on virological status and this is used to monitor response to treatments. Since HIV is an RNA virus, once inside the host CD4 cell, the RNA is converted to DNA and combines with the host's DNA to form proviral DNA. Indeed, HIV proviral DNA is integrated into the genome of the cell and detection of cell-associated HIV DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by PCR is therefore the most sensitive method to establish viral infection. The storage points for the provirus are dried blood spots (DBS). DBS was then standardized, a standardized and commercially available microwell plate amplification and detection kit to detect HIV-1 DNA using the Amplicon HIV-1 DNA version 1.5 and it was based on these steps: sample preparation, PCR amplification of the target DNA using complementary primers specific for HIV-1, hybridization of the amplified products to target-specific oligonucleotide probes and detection of the amplified products linked to the probe by colorimetric dosage. Additionally, enzyme immunoassay (EIA) is a common immunological technique that has been adapted for the detection of HIV antibodies. Most EIAs have high sensitivity and specificity and are capable of detecting HIV-1/HIV-2 and HIV variants. Further progress has been demonstrated, with the combination of p24Ag EIAs with traditional EIAs enabling the simultaneous detection of HIV antigen and antibodies. EIAs require sophisticated equipment and are technically demanding; automatic pipettes, incubators, washers, readers and a constant power supply must be available and as such require the medical laboratory scientist.