White negligence: medics in Kamchatka suspected of infecting an infant with HIV
The medical staff of a maternity hospital in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, who may be involved in infecting a child with HIV, could face up to five years in prison, according to experts interviewed by Izvestiya. The Investigative Committee reported on December 5 that it had opened a criminal case of negligence against the staff of the maternity hospital. The parents believe that the child could have been infected only immediately after birth - in the premature infant pathology department of the regional hospital. If this assumption is confirmed, the case may be reclassified to another article - HIV infection. However, the sanctions are similar to those in the article on negligence.
How a child could have contracted HIV
The Investigative Committee of the Kamchatka Territory initiated a criminal case of negligence against "unidentified personnel" of one of the maternity hospitals of the regional capital and the pathology department of the regional children's hospital. Earlier in the media there was information about the detection of HIV infection in a child whose parents, as they themselves assure, are healthy. The mother and father confirmed to Izvestia that they learned about the presence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in him "absolutely by accident".
- When registering for pregnancy, as it should be, my spouse and I took an HIV test, we were negative. Throughout his life, the child has not had any serious injuries, wounds or bleeding where he could have contracted the infection. Close relatives also undergo annual medical examinations, so the risks of infection at home are excluded," the child's mother, who asked not to be named, told Izvestia.
According to the woman, the diagnosis became known when the child was being prepared for a scheduled surgery. It became clear when the results of laboratory tests came back - the tests were taken several times, sent including to a laboratory outside the region, and they were all positive. However, the parents refused to provide Izvestia with the results of the tests - their own and the child's. In their opinion, he could have been infected in the medical center after birth.
- The baby was born prematurely, so he was placed in a special box in the department of pathology of premature and newborns. I was warned that HIV-infected children lie there, so you have to be careful with feeding, " the baby's mother told Izvestia. - There was a dairy kitchen in the ward, where all the supplies for feeding were kept: bottles, nipples, formula. There was a common refrigerator where decanted milk was stored. All the formula was signed. But I don't see any other explanation for what happened.
HIV infection can indeed be contracted through milk, confirmed to Izvestia Professor of Virology Anatoly Altstein.
-Feeding milk to a woman with HIV is enough to transmit the disease to her child, " he said. - There are other ways of transmitting HIV to a child that do not apply to this case - through blood from wounds or if the mother has the disease.
According to the Federal Scientific and Methodological Center for AIDS Prevention and Control Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, Kamchatka Krai is one of 34 regions of Russia, where the average Russian level of HIV incidence was exceeded by the end of 2023. In the region it is 50.9 per 100 thousand people. On average in Russia it is 40.04.
At the same time, children with HIV are born from infected mothers relatively rarely thanks to drugs that suppress the virus. Thus, in 2023, 10,474 children were born in Russia from HIV-infected mothers, of which 96 children (0.9%) were confirmed to have the infection.
What threatens medical personnel, if his guilt is proved?
The Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee for Kamchatka Krai is conducting verification measures "aimed at detailed establishment of the circumstances of the incident," it said.
"In the course of the investigation will be assessed the actions of officials of the regional Ministry of Health, " the report said. - Infection of the child with HIV could have occurred due to violations committed during the provision of medical care in medical institutions of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky".
The case is under the control of the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia Alexander Bastrykin, noted in the central office of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.
"The head of the agency instructed the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia in Kamchatka region Vladimir Kulakov to report on the progress of the criminal investigation and the established circumstances," the ICR noted.
Roszdravnadzor told Izvestia that they will check the circumstances of medical care of the child at all stages.
Interview with a mother of a child infected with HIV
In order to bring charges in the case, the investigation will need to establish when exactly the child was infected, Artem Baghdasaryan, a member of the Dictatorship of Law Bar Association, told Izvestia. According to him, if the infection occurred in a hospital, the investigation will need to establish whether any of the employees were negligent, violated their official duties, and prove a causal link between the actions or inaction of the medical facility's employees and the child's infection with human immunodeficiency virus.
- Establishing the existence of guilty parties is possible after a detailed study of the circumstances of the case and expert examinations, - he emphasized.
In order to prove whether the infection occurred in the maternity hospital, it is necessary to take tests from those who were there at the time of the child's stay, said "Izvestia" criminal defense lawyer, ex-investigator of the Investigative Committee Maxim Kalinov.
- All mothers [who were there], as well as medical staff, will have to be tested," he said. - It will not be difficult to identify the person from whom the infection occurred. Once a criminal case is opened, the investigator has the right to request samples.
If it is proved that the infection was transmitted through someone else's breast milk, the medical staff will be held liable, as this is negligence , the lawyer explained.
Under the article on negligence, the defendants may face imprisonment for five years, said lawyer Andrei Mishonov.
Lawyer Timur Faizov and child protection expert Alexandra Marova believe that the case may be reclassified to the article on HIV infection.
- So far, the medical staff is charged with negligence, as it has not been established by whose fault the child was infected. If the circumstances indicating the guilt of the medical staff are confirmed, the case may be reclassified," explained Alexandra Marova.
According to the article on HIV infection, Timur Faizov noted, the perpetrators of the incident also face imprisonment for up to five years.
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