Karachi, July 8 (IANS). Pakistan mass HIV infection was revealed in November. The case was of a government hospital in Sindh province. Where not 10 or 20 but 78 children were injected with infected needles during treatment and they became victims of the deadly disease. The victim’s family has since been talking about taking action against the accused staff. Months later, after the intervention of the court, an investigation was ordered against those responsible.
According to the report published in British newspaper The Telegraph, 78 children were found infected with HIV in ‘Kulsoom Bai Walika Hospital’ located in Sindh.
The report said that the investigation into this case has started at a time when the victims’ families were protesting for several months. They allege that despite the case of infection coming to light in November last year, the authorities did not order an independent investigation.
Ultimately the victims approached the Sindh High Court. The court directed the government to file a report within two weeks and explain the reason for the infection.
The petition filed in the court alleged that more than 200 children were infected with HIV due to the re-use of disposable syringes in the hospital.
Family members have also claimed that nine of these children have died, although officials have not yet confirmed these figures.
The petition states that reusing disposable syringes is a case of criminal negligence. It was also alleged that the authorities neither conducted a proper investigation of the incident nor made proper arrangements for the treatment of the victim children.
This matter has come to light at a time when concern regarding cases of HIV infection among children is continuously increasing in Pakistan.
The Telegraph quoted Sindh’s health department as saying that out of 894 HIV cases recorded in the province between January and March this year, 329 cases were of children.
Several cases of health care-associated HIV infection have been reported in Pakistan in recent years. Prominent among these is the 2019 Ratodero (Sindh) HIV outbreak, where hundreds of children were reportedly infected by reusing infected needles. A subsequent World Health Organization (WHO) investigation identified unsafe injection practices as the main cause of the outbreak.
The report said that as of June 2019, more than 800 children were found to be HIV positive in Ratodero town, which has a population of about three lakh. After this, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this matter fell out of the global headlines, but cases of infection continued to be reported.
–IANS
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