Controversy Surrounding The HIV Positive Reports Of One-Year Girl In Kerala
A cloud of controversy has surrounded The Thiruvananthapuram medical college following the report claiming that a one-year-old girl who had received a transfusion form the hospital blood bank has been tested positive for HIV infection.
According to the inquiry, one-year-old Reshmi, who is HIV-positive, was given blood, which had been taken from a person who was HIV-negative.The parents of the child are in deep shock as they are at loss to understand why this happened to their daughter. The child’s mother is worried about the lack of proper available treatment for the disease.
The parents have been tested negative that has prompted the doctors to look out for other potential areas from where the infection could have been contracted. The incident has exposed the complete lack of facilities in blood banks for screening of blood prior to transfusion.
The hospital authorities insist that the blood given to the child was not contaminated. However, they argue that there is no doubt regarding the HIV detection tests that turned out to be positive for the child. A second blood test had been conducted to confirm the finding.
The Government has ordered a probe to resolve the associated mystery. The State Minister in response to the above issue has announced a sum of Rs 10, 000 as a compensation for the victim’s mother.
"About 30,000 people receive blood every year from this blood bank. This is the first such incident so naturally it requires to be probed in detail only then we can say something," said K K Ramachandran Master, Health Minister.
Advertisement
