HIV positive woman delivers baby girl; both fine

A 24-year-old pregnant woman, who contracted HIV through transfusion of blood containing the virus, delivered a baby girl at the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai on Thursday evening.

The woman, who hails from Sattur in Virudhunagar district, was shifted to the Rajaji Hospital in Madurai in the last week of December last year for specialised treatment. She was quarantined to a separate ward at the hospital and was accorded specialised treatment to ensure that her child does not contract the virus.

Sources in the hospital told DH that the woman delivered a baby girl at 7 pm through normal delivery. “Both the mother and child are safe,” an official said, adding that the blood samples of the newborn has been sent for medical examination to check her HIV status. The results of the tests would be known in a day or two, they said.

Doctors attending on her had earlier said they were taking every step to ensure that the child does not get HIV. The woman was transfused with HIV positive blood at a hospital in Sattur and the incident came to light on December 25 after the woman’s family made it public.

The pregnant woman was given the blood, which had HIV virus in it, during transfusion in early December but the doctors at the hospital called her back to the hospital following a call from the youth in question who alerted about him being infected with HIV after a random test conducted for his job enquiry revealed the presence of virus in his body.

The youth had donated blood during a donation camp conducted at the Sivakasi Government Hospital in November. Since the blood was marked safe by technicians at the lab, it was sent to the hospital in Sattur when the need arose.

After the incident came to light, the youth committed suicide by consuming poison.