Six patients in the state of Rio de Janeiro have been diagnosed with HIV after receiving an organ transplant. The laboratory which made errors in the preliminary HIV tests was closed by the authorities. An investigation is underway.
The alert was given on September 10 by a patient who began to show symptoms of HIV infection. The HIV test he took came back positive, as did those of five other patients. Their common point: they all received an organ transplant from donors whose prior HIV tests were declared negative even though they were not, according to information reported by Le Parisien.
An audit has been ordered
How could such a mistake have been made? This is what an ongoing investigation will seek to understand. Pending its conclusions, the authorities decided to suspend the activities of the private laboratory PCS Lab Saleme, under contract with the Rio de Janeiro health system. New screenings will be carried out on all the organs already tested in the establishment to avoid further contamination. The authorities speak of a situation “grave” : “So far we have received confirmation that two donors have tested positive for HIV and six recipients have also tested positive“, declared the Minister of Health, Nisia Trindade, in a press release. The ministry also ordered a “urgent audit (…) of the transplant system in Rio de Janeiro“.
The HIV virus infected nearly half a million Brazilians between 2007 and 2023, according to the latest bulletin from the country’s Health Ministry.
published on October 13 at 11:23 a.m., Sabrina Guintini, 6Médias
Share
