AIDS infected blood claims Kerala child’s life, parents launch protest campaign

March 27, 2006

AIDS infected blood claims Kerala child's life, parents launch

protest campaign

By K.Ashik, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Grief and anger has gripped

the family of a two-year-old girl, who died of AIDS after allegedly

being infected through blood transfusion at a hospital here.

Reshmi, died due to severe diarrhoeal infections and high fever on

March 25.

Born into a farmer's family in Pachallor region, Reshmi's parents

and elder sibling are HIV negative and her family says she had

contracted the virus while undergoing anaemia treatment as an infant

in 2004 at Trivandram's state-run SAT hospital.

Diagnosed about a year back with the deadly disease, her family's

plea for help and protests forced the local authorities to order an

inquiry, the outcome of which is still awaited.

The hospital has admitted to giving the dead girl multiple

transfusions, but denied that they were contaminated.

Reshmi's distraught parents and relatives say nothing can compensate

them for the loss of their child, but they have begun a spirited

campaign for justice, saying that no other child should face such a

fate.

" The incident is very sad. Yesterday, we took her into hospital and

she died soon after. She got HIV only because of the laxity from the

doctors. The government did not do anything regarding the post-

mortem, nobody came here. Like this all the culprits will escape, "

Reshmi's uncle, Radhakrishnan, said.

" This should not happen to any mother in the world, no child should

get HIV through hospitals, the government must ensure this, " he

added.

India has in the past decade acted to improve safety of blood supply

in its hospital, introducing stringent checks, banning illegal blood

collection agencies and spreading awareness, but analysts warn many

loopholes still exist in the country's overburdened health system.

The world's second-most populous country has an official HIV/AIDS

caseload of more than 5 million people and experts say that number

could quadruple by 2010, as many people are still reluctant to

discuss safe sex openly.

Many experts say the true infection rate may be far higher than

government figures suggest. Many Indians cannot afford anti-

retroviral drugs, which cost 1,300 rupees a month.

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