Transfusion of contaminated blood infected 18 with HIV in Mumbai in 2016-17, reveals report

Mumbai: Eighteen people contracted HIV because of transfusion through blood and blood products in the metropolis in 2016-17, according to a report. The Mumbai District Aids Control Society, in its report, said during 2016-17, 18 people received the infection through transfusion of contaminated blood/blood products. During the same period, the maximum case was reported due to unprotected sex with infected persons. The number of such patients stood at 6,254, lower than 6,596 reported in the previous year, the report said. [caption id=“attachment_4060725” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Seventeen patients received the infection through infected syringes and needles in 2016-17 as against 35 in 2015-16, it said. The report also stated that 250 children received the infection from their mothers, while reasons in 184 cases remained unidentified. In 2015-16, 410 children received the disease from their mothers, while reasons of the infection for 195 patients were unknown, it said. Vidya Mane, deputy director, MDACS, said, “At the time of blood testing, we ask the patients reasons behind the infection. Some patients admit they had received blood. If there are no other reasons given by the patient, then we assume he/she had received the infection through blood or blood products.” It is to be noted that the government recommended tests can’t identify the HIV infection if the donor is having it in ‘window period’. If a person receives infection of HIV, for the first three months, the blood reports appear normal and it is called as ‘window period.’ The existing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test could not identify the infection during the window period, which is generally three-month long. On the other hand, there are private hospitals where a nucleic acid test is available, which can detect HIV in just about 10 days after infection. Such tests are not available with the government agencies, said an official from the state health department. There are various ways of getting HIV infection. These include unprotected sex with an infected person, blood and blood products, infected syringes and needles, parents to the child.