14 kids infected with HIV, Hepatitis after blood transfusions in UP

Lucknow: Doctors in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur confirmed on Monday 14 children have tested positive for Hepatitis B, C and HIV after receiving blood transfusions.

They are now at greater risk alongside the Thalassemia condition to which they needed transfusions, according to The Hindustan Times.

Officials at the government-run Lala Lajpat Rai (LLR) Hospital, where the incident was reported, pointed at possible ineffective tests for viruses carried out during blood donations. It is however said that the source of the infection may be hard to find out.

Dr Arun Arya, head of paediatrics department at LLR and nodal officer for this centre, said HIV infections are particularly worrying and children are referred to various department for treatment.

The hospital screens for infections each of the 180 thalassemia patients every six months as their condition necessitates them to periodically receive blood transfusions.

The 14 children received blood transfusions at private and district hospitals alongside sourcing locally on emergency.

Dr Arun Arya said that blood transfusion had taken place during window period, the period of time when virus could not be detected by the tests.

“This seems to be the case… the children are already battling a serious issue and are now at a greater health risk,” Arya was quoted as saying.

He added that the doctors should have vaccinated the children against Hepatitis B at the time of transfusion.

The 14 children are aged between the ages of 6 and 16, with seven of them tested positive for Hepatitis B, five for Hepatitis C and two for HIV, the report cited Dr Arjun Arya.

The children come from places including Kanpur City, Dehat, Farrukhabad, Auraiya, Etawah and Kannauj.