7 Kanpur doctors get HIV prick

[Guest guest]

The Delhi Age 29 August 2001, New Delhi-Amita Verma

7 Kanpur doctors get HIV prick

Lucknow, Aug. 28: Seven doctors of Kanpur's Ganesh Shankar

Vidyarthi Medical College are suspected to have contracted

HIV while treating AIDS patients in the hospital.

The doctors, all of them resident interns, are under

treatment and the Indian Medical Association has requested

the UP government to take care of the expenses. A reputed

pharmaceutical company has also offered to bear the expenses

of the doctors' treatment.

These doctors, according to GSVM sources, are said to have

come into contact with the blood of AIDS-infected patients

when the needle used on the latter accidentally pricked

their fingers. In one case, a drop of an AIDS patient's

blood entered the eye of a resident doctor when the latter

was removing the needle for blood transfusion.

Though none of the doctors have tested HIV positive yet

and medical experts claim that the HIV needs a considerable

gestation period before it manifests itself completely,

the GSVM doctors are taking no chances. " The fact is that

the doctors have accidentally come in contact with the

blood of AIDS-infected patients and we cannot take the

matter lightly. We have put all seven doctors on a

chemo-profile access' before subjecting them to

clinical evaluation to determine the need for 'post

exposure prophylactics, " said head of the medicine

department R.N. Dwivedi.

____________________________

Dr. Jagdish Harsh

Assistant Director

François-Xavier Bagnoud (INDIA)

161, Satya Niketan, Moti Bagh-II

New Delhi-110 021, INDIA

Phone: +91.11.611 1793-94; Fax: +91.11.410 7381

E-mail: fxbindia@...; Web: http://www.fxb.org/india.htm

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[Guest guest]

Dear Forum subscribers,

It is very sad to read the message that 7 doctors from a same medical ward

have contacted/ got needle prick from an HIV positive patient. In fact it

reflects very badly on the part of GSVM College adminsitration and the HIC

awareness in that medical college.

It is also also not easy to believe/understand how seven persons can get

prick from a single patioent. I as former national consultant for WHO/NACO would

doubt the report.

Before believing this report it is important to know the sequence of events. In

any case the PEP which has been started to the exposed persons is right

step even if they are not tested positive, at present. It is also important

to mention that these students should approach the State AIDS Society or the

NACO to get the bills of PEP reimbersed as per national PEP policy.

Dr. Sarman Singh

Additional Professor & Head,

Clinical Microbiology, AIIMS, New Delhi

E-mail:<ssingh56@...>

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