Child who ‘contracted’ HIV at RCC is dead

A nine-year-old cancer patient who was suspected to have contracted HIV allegedly after undergoing a blood transfusion at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) in Thiruvananthapuram last year died at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) here on Wednesday.

MCH authorities said that the patient died of acute leukaemia.

According to the family, the child was first admitted to the RCC on March 1, 2017 and underwent blood transfusion several times during the course of the treatment. In August 2017, she was tested HIV positive. Her family alleged that she had contracted HIV following blood transfusion at the RCC. However, a subsequent detailed blood test conducted at a lab of the General Hospital in Chennai could not find the virus in her blood samples.

The Kerala State AIDS Control Society (KSACS) had referred the lab report to the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and decided not to start anti-retroviral therapy for her.

Clean chit to RCC

Earlier, a high-level team had given a clean chit to the RCC. The report said there was no technical fault on the part of the RCC and the virus might have been transmitted through blood which was transfused during the window period. It pointed out that the RCC had no mechanism to detect the virus during the window period. The KSACS and the internal probe by the RCC had also given similar reports to the government.

The funeral will be held on Thursday.