Result of hospital HIV infection inquiry awaited

A committee formed by the Nishtar Hospital administration to probe into HIV cases among diabetic patients has not completed its report despite a considerable lapse of time.

The MS had denied reports that as many as 30 patients in the hospital's nephrology department were suffering from HIV.

Following reports of HIV positive cases among diabetic patients, the hospital administration had constituted the committee to ascertain the facts.

However, while the committee is yet to come up with the report, one patient who had undergone dialysis at the hospital has been found to be HIV positive, according to sources.

The sources said nearly 270 patients registered in the dialysis unit of the hospital had been screened after the formation of the fact-finding committee, one of the patients went to the AIDS Control Programme at the DHQ hospital and was confirmed as HIV positive.

It remains to be determined whether the patient was already infected or had contracted HIV after dialysis. The committee formed by Dr Mehnaz Khakwani has not been able to complete the inquiry even after several days.

A five-member fact-finding committee formed by the Punjab health secretary also visited the hospital's dialysis unit and reviewed the record, including that of patient screening.

The team also recorded statements related to the screening process.

Dr Ghulam Abbas of the nephrology department confirmed that a patient who was initially HIV negative in the dialysis unit record had been found infected upon later screening, after which the screening of nearly 270 patients and staff in the department had been done.