Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Whether your child is battling an acute infection or a chronic disease, our team can offer timely solutions so that infections no longer threaten your child's development and well being.

Your Child's Own Team of Experts

Each day, our nurse practitioners and doctors work collaboratively with other pediatric experts to solve complicated illnesses and conditions — many of which were once considered difficult to diagnose and treat.

Our infectious disease specialists are available to support your child's pediatrician and the other members of your child's health care team. In addition, our patients and families benefit from the support of the hospital's superior pediatric intensive care specialists, child life specialists, nurses, nutrition experts and volunteers.

Besides providing the highest level of clinical care, our experts are committed to furthering the knowledge of infectious disease through education and clinical research. Our section is home to a nationally accredited infectious disease fellowship, considered one of the foremost in the country.

Part of your child's treatment may involve anti-infective medicines. Our team is particularly skilled at managing antibiotic-resistant infections, a growing issue in the medical community. Using treatment plans that involve newer antibiotics, we can treat many of these conditions safely and effectively.

Research and Clinical Trials

Because we are actively involved in national research groups, your child may have access to promising medicines before they reach the general public. For example, we are one of three sites in Chicago to offer access to pediatric HIV studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Comer Children's is a participating member of the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trial Group (ACTG) system, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Our team is also a member of the National Antiviral Collaborative Group.

A Commitment to the Community

Our doctors have a strong history of actively preventing the spread of communicable diseases in the community. In 1993, UChicago Medicine developed the Pediatric Immunization Program. The program has provided door-to-door education and outreach to families in Chicago's public housing to increase immunization rates and childhood wellness. More than 80 percent of children enrolled in the program have received their shots on time. That's higher than the national average. Current efforts are underway to provide tracking and reminders of missed appointments beginning at birth.

Our specialists are involved in other outreach programs as well. For example, members of our Pediatric and Adolescent HIV Care Team provide HIV education to schools, youth groups, parents and community organizations.