Kerala BMJK Claim on HIV negative status for child contested

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Claim on HIV negative status for child contested

By Our Staff Reporter

KOTTAYAM

April 6.

The Kerala State AIDS Control Society has taken serious exception to the claim

being made by the Bishop Mar ph Kundukulam (BMJK) AIDS Research and

Rehabilitation Centre at Peringadur in Thrissur district that one of their

wards, who was found HIV positive at birth was found HIV negative after he had

turned one-and-a-half years old as a `rare case of medical history'.

Speaking to here today, R. Sajith Kumar, State PRAM (Physician Responsible for

AIDS Management) said this has been accepted as a natural phenomenon and 70 per

cent of the children born to HIV positive mothers pass through this phase. ``The

child probably was never HIV infected nor has anything that happened in between

his birth and now anything to do with the change in the results of the tests

conducted'', he said.

Ninety-nine per cent of the children born to HIV positive mothers would be found

HIV positive at birth, in and Western Blot Tests, he said.

``This is because at birth, anti-bodies from the mother is transferred to the

child through a process which, in medical terms is called `transplacental

transfer of immunoglobulins. These antibodies would start disappearing once the

child develops its own antibodies. The period for developing own antibodies may

take up to one-and-a-half years. Since and Western Blot Tests look for the

presence of specific antibodies to declare the patient HIV positive, children

below the age of one year born to HIV positive mothers would also be found HIV

positive, he said.

Only the virus load test or PCR (Polymerised Chain Reaction) hunts for AIDS

virus. As such if found positive in this test, is almost certain that the

patient is HIV positive. However, the major disadvantage of this test is that it

is not only costly but a negative result proves nothing- just because you have

been found negative in the PCR you cannot be sure that you are NOT infected'' he

pointed out.

``In fact, there is a standing rule that children below the age of one year

should not be tested for HIV,'' Dr. Kumar said. Citing an example from his

personal experience, Dr. Kumar said a child born to one of his female patients,

was found HIV positive when the parents tested the baby when it was one week

old. They had done this against the advice of the doctor. However, the child is

now four years old and is HIV negative. This was only a natural phenomenon, he

said. There are so many cases like this, he added.

Referring to the chances of `false positive results' in the tests, Dr. Kumar

pointed out that the incidence of false positiveness is as high as 65 per cent.

``There are several conditions that lead to a HIV positive result and presence

of AIDS virus is only one of them. Under Indian context these other conditions

(conditions other than presence of AIDS virus) are more. Hence the large

percentage of false positive results'', he said.

The Society has also pointed to the moral issues involved in publicising the

`non-issue', possibly with a commercial angle at the cost of the privacy of an

orphan child, especially at a time when the stigma against AIDS victims in

Kerala's middle class mores is on the rise. The experience of the Chathannur

children are still in memory. By misleading the public, in this manner, the

future of this orphan child has been put under stigma, that too for no fault of

the child or the profession, he pointed out.

Source: The Hindu

(http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/04/07/stories/2003040703390300.htm)