Without confirming details, committee set up by Punjab govt denies a researcher’s claim that 10 Thalassemia children in Pakistan are HIV positive
The Punjab government is attempting to brush under the carpet the reports that some Thalassemia children were diagnosed HIV positive, as the committee it appointed rejected all such claims on Thursday, even before the confirmation of the actual details, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Dr Javeria Mannan, a child specialist who came from abroad for her research, revealed during a medical conference that she found 10 children suffering from Thalassemia to be HIV positive.
This fact when reported by the media, sent shockwaves across the country, pushing the Punjab government to set up a probe committee. However, the committee headed by Professor Mehfooz of King Edward Medical University (KEMU) rejected that the children were infected by HIV even though the complete details of the children are yet to come.
Thalassemia Federation of Pakistan General Secretary Yasmin Rashid told Pakistan Today that she has written an email to Dr Javeria to ask which children are infected with HIV.
“It would be unfair to point fingers at any one group before her (Javeria’s) reply. We are also waiting and will share with the media whatever detail she gives but currently it is not possible to say anything about the data of children for sure,” she said.
To a question, she said, there was no need to “hush up” matters as “we did not infuse HIV into the children”.
The case has highlighted the abysmal state of blood screening in the country. Many senior doctors have condemned the incident and demanded severest punishment for those responsible.
Thalassemia is a hereditary disorder which prevents the production of haemoglobin and affects an estimated 50,000 people in the country. Thalassemia patients, usually children, require regular blood transfusions. Transfusion of unscreened blood puts Thalassemia patients at a risk of protracting several diseases.
In Pakistan, Thalassemia patients undergo blood transfusions at various centres and hence it is still not possible to pinpoint a culprit in the present case.
Pakistan is considered a low prevalence country for HIV, with UNAIDS estimating that less than 0.05 percent of the general population is infected.
The federal government has also constituted a two-member committee to probe the matter. The committee consists of the head of the AIDS program and chairman of the federal blood transfusion authority.
Minister of National Health Services Regulation and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar told Pakistan Today that the matter is very “ambiguous” so far because no one knows where those affected children are.
“We have given four days to the committee to present its findings and will contact Dr Javeria too,” she added.
Health Secretary Jawad Rafiq Malik and Professor Mehfooz were not available for comments despite repeated attempts.