In a disturbing turn of events, five young children battling thalassemia in Chaibasa, Jharkhand, have been diagnosed with HIV, according to a report by PTI. This alarming development follows an earlier allegation by a family that their 7-year-old child received HIV-infected blood during a transfusion at a local blood bank. In response, a medical team was dispatched to investigate the cause of the contamination.
During the course of this investigation, four more children with thalassemia in the same town were found to be HIV-positive. Officials noted that the first child diagnosed with HIV had received approximately 25 units of blood since beginning treatment at the blood bank. District Civil Surgeon Dr. Sushanto Majhee confirmed that the child tested positive for HIV over a week ago, also stating that factors like exposure to contaminated needles could potentially lead to HIV infections.
Blood Bank Under Scrutiny
The probe into the incident is being led by Jharkhand’s Director of Health Services, Dr. Dinesh Kumar. His five-member team visited the Sadar hospital’s blood bank and the pediatric intensive care unit, gathering information from the affected children.
Dr. Kumar indicated that initial findings suggest the transfusion of contaminated blood to a thalassemia patient. “Initial investigation indicates that contaminated blood was transfused to a thalassemia patient. Some discrepancies were detected in the blood bank during the probe, and the officials concerned have been directed to resolve them,” he was quoted as saying.
West Singhbhum district in Jharkhand currently has 515 reported HIV-positive cases and 56 patients with thalassemia.
The investigating team includes Dr. Shipra Das, Dr. S S Paswan, Dr. Bhagat, District Civil Surgeon Dr. Sushanto Majhee, Dr. Shivcharan Hansda, and Dr. Minu Kumari.
Understanding Thalassemia
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines thalassemia as an inherited blood disorder that occurs when the body fails to produce sufficient hemoglobin, a crucial protein in red blood cells. This deficiency impairs the function of red blood cells, reducing their lifespan and consequently leading to a lower count of healthy red blood cells circulating in the bloodstream.
Individuals with thalassemia often require regular blood transfusions to manage their condition.
(Inputs: PTI)