Girl, 5, gets HIV in heart operation

INQUIRER.net photo

MANILA, Philippines — A five year-old girl in China has been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) after receiving tainted blood during a heart operation in 2010.

In a report by CHINADAILY.com, the girl nicknamed “Maomao” from Fujian province in southeast China, tested positive for HIV after a medical examination in 2014 when she came down with a high fever that lasted for 17 days.

The report said the girl was only eight-months-old when she underwent heart surgery in May 2010.

The report quoted a government official saying one of the eight donors whose blood was used during the operation was going through a “window period” when the virus was undetectable.

The donor, however, was later found to be positive for HIV, which causes the acquired immune deficiency syndrome or AIDS.

According to the report, the hospital and the blood center would negotiate with Maomao’s parents regarding the compensation since the family’s hospital bills had skyrocketed.

The report said the donor’s infected blood was also given to two other patients but the government had yet to locate them.

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