Children contracting HIV during treatment: Cong leader slams BJP govt in MP

Bhopal, Dec 18 (PTI) Six children contracting HIV infection during thalassemia treatment in Madhya Pradesh was "failure of governance", a Congress leader said on Thursday while slamming the BJP dispensation in the state.

Six children in the age group of 12 to 15 were found to be HIV positive after suspected contaminated blood transfusions at the district hospitals in Satna, Jabalpur and elsewhere. The parents of one of them were also found to be infected, officials had said on Tuesday. All these cases were reported between January and May this year, they added.

"This is not an accident, it is a crime. HIV infection through blood transfusion in 2025 cannot be an accident. Blood screening failed, testing protocols were broken, and the monitoring system is in shambles. This is complete system failure," MLA and Adivasi Congress national president Vikrant Bhuria told reporters here.

State health minister Rajendra Shukla should take moral responsibility for the incident and immediately resign, while the blood bank in-charge of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Government Hospital in Satna and district health officials should be suspended, he added.

"This is failure of governance. These children were found to be HIV positive several months ago, but the government continued to suppress the issue. All the affected children come from poor families. The government should provide them free treatment and adequate compensation throughout their lives," Bhuria said.

"HIV-infected blood in Satna, deaths from cough syrup in Chhindwara, and rats biting children in a hospital in Indore. These reflect the insensitivity of this government. Hospitals have become unsafe, and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav is sleeping. A criminal case should be filed in this matter and a state-level audit of all blood banks should be conducted," the Congress leader said.

The state health department has constituted a six-member inquiry committee, which has been directed to submit its report within six days. PTI BNS MAS BNM