The nine-year-old child who acquired transfusion-transmitted HIV infection while undergoing treatment for leukaemia at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) will be taken to the Government Hospital, Tambaram, Chennai, on October 3 for conducting a few tests, before commencing antiretroviral treatment here.
The child and her parents will be accompanied by an official from the RCC to Chennai.
The government will bear all expenses for the travel and testing, all of which is being coordinated by the Kerala State AIDS Control Society.
No facilities in Kerala
The child will undergo an HIV viral load test to determine the status of the infection. Kerala at present does not have facilities for this test. The viral load test measures the amount of HIV virus genetic material in a blood sample.
This test is done along with a CD4 count test before commencing antiretroviral treatment. (CD4 count tests the number of CD4 cells in blood, which start declining as infection progresses).
“Three confirmatory tests had been done earlier to find if the child was indeed HIV+. While two tests – Elisa test and PCR DNA test – were positive, the HIV RNA test (which was done outside the State) gave a negative result. The child was already immuno-compromised when HIV test was done, so there is a slim possibility that we got a false positive result. The viral load test is being done as a reconfirmatory test before we decide on the treatment course,” a senior health official said.
Once the confirmatory tests are done, the child will be started on ART in Thiruvananthapuram, as she has to continue her treatment at the Regional Cancer Centre. Once the treatment at the RCC is complete, the child can be referred to an ART centre near her home.
