Amid a grim national scenario of hundreds of cases of HIV transmission caused by infected blood that The Hindu reported on Tuesday, Kerala boasts a cleaner picture.
The only recorded blot in recent times was the case of a minor girl from Mananthavady, Wayanad, who reportedly contracted HIV infection through the blood route in 2013.
But experts in the field of blood safety and blood donation believe that the process of testing for infections in the State’s blood banks is not flawless.
The medical officer of the Aluva Regional Blood Transfusion Centre, Dr. N. Vijayakumar told The Hindu that he had proposed to the Kerala AIDS Control Society, which controls the blood banks functioning in the State, to initiate quality assurance of reagents, test kits, maintenance of a cold chain from the site of manufacture to the laboratory work table, which is of paramount importance in ensuring the efficacy of the reagent.
But most of these practices are seldom followed.
The current ELISA systems test only the antibody reflecting the immunological response of the host to the virus.
If tests incorporating P24 antigen is also included, the infection could be detected within three weeks of a person contracting the disease.
Ideal practice
However, the most ideal would be the introduction of simultaneous, single tube, individual donor NAT (ID NAT) testing for HIV1, HBV and HCV.
This is the preferred choice in the U.S. and most of Europe because it provides the highest sensitivity, best value, highest accuracy throughout with good service backing.
In Delhi, most of the institutions have adopted it following the model of All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
The ELISA systems test only the antibody reflecting the immunological response.
