HIV case: Five-member panel begins inquiry in Virudhunagar

MADURAI: The five-member committee led by additional joint director of health services, Dr Malathi, constituted by the Tamil Nadu government arrived in Madurai to inquire into the incident, where HIV-infected blood was transfused to a pregnant woman at the Sattur government hospital on Friday.

They arrived at the Sivakasi government hospital and conducted inquiries and summoned the health workers including lab technicians and nurses, who had treated the pregnant woman. Three contract workers Valarmathy, Ganeshbabu and Ramesh, who were dismissed from the services, were also interrogated by the team. Functioning of the blood banks was also reviewed by the team.

With the investigations expected to continue, the team will submit its report in about two weeks, after which the people, who were responsible for the incident, would be booked and specific action would be taken against them.

Meanwhile, the dean in-charge of the Government Rajaji Hospital, Dr S Shanmugasundaram said that infected woman and her donor, who had attempted suicide, are both responding to their treatments. The pregnant woman had mild jaundice in addition to the HIV infection and efforts were on to reduce it. Priority was to ensure that the child when it is born in the end of January next year is not infected by the virus, he said.