The study concludes that HIV disease is rising rapidly in the ranks of the leading causes of death among children, being the ninth leading cause of death among children ages 1 to 4 and the seventh in youth between the ages of 15 and 24. If current trends continue, AIDS can be expected to be among the top five leading causes of death in children and adolescents in the next 3 or 4 years. HIV infection affects infants who acquire it perinatally from their infected mothers, children who receive contaminated blood products or blood transfusions, and adolescents who contract it through intravenous drug abuse or unsafe sexual practices. The 13 recommendations offered are based on certain study conclusions. Pediatric HIV infection is distinct from HIV infection in adults and requires tailored approaches to research, care, financing of care, and prevention; HIV-infected children should have easy access to care and treatment; strategies must be developed to recruit more pediatric health care workers into the field; the Nation's adolescents are the key population to which attention and resources must be targeted; and if an impact is to be made in lowering the incidence of pediatric HIV infection, early prevention efforts must be targeted to women and men of reproductive age. 18 charts, 3 tables.