Child confirmed Aids-free after getting contaminated blood

A 12-year-old Saudi girl who was given contaminated blood by mistake at a local hospital has not been infected with Aids. Prompting doctors to stop all types of medication, newspapers in the Gulf Kingdom reported on Monday.

But Riham Al Hikmi will stay under medical supervision at the hospital in Riyadh as doctors want to make sure she is totally Aids -free after the medication was stopped.

“We have conducted three tests, the last of which was at Mayo clinic in the United States, and all of them showed Riham is not infected with the virus,” said Dr Sami Al Hajjar, head of the medical team supervising Riham’s case.

“This is probably because of the instant reaction by doctors to the reports that Riham was given contaminated blood. I believe the quick response by the medical team to her case prevented the transmission of the virus, but we have to keep her at hospital under our supervision for a while to make sure she is fully Aids -free after the halting of the medication,” he told Sabq Arabic language daily.

In March, Riham hit headlines in the oil-rich Gulf Kingdom after she was reported to have been infected with the killer disease by receiving contaminated blood at a hospital in the southern province of Jazan.

Jazan Hospital admitted that it was an error by one of its laboratory technicians and apologised to the girl’s family. But, the Ministry of Health decided to open an investigation into the case following media furor.

The hospital said the technician made a mistake when he transferred blood to the girl from a donor infected with the Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (Aids).

The incident triggered a wave of public protests through social networks and many of them called for immediate action against that hospital.

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