Children play with HIV blood

Horrified PMB parents are still in shock after finding their children covered in blood from test tubes at a private laboratory in a nearby property.

Durban - Horrified Pietermaritzburg parents are still in shock after finding their children covered in blood from test tubes at a private laboratory in a nearby property.

It is believed the children, who are aged between 3 and 7 years old, found the blood samples in a box and parents are concerned that their children may have drunk some of the blood from the test tubes.

Sindi Mthembu, mother of one of the affected children, said her child came home last Sunday with blood on his hands, but when questioned he said “I was killing a monster”.

When she took her child to school the following morning, other parents asked her if she knew what had happened the previous day.

“They told me what really happened to my child and explained what they (the children) had been doing.

“All the parents went to the landlord to explain the matter and they decided to go to the lady who owns the laboratory and who was responsible for the medical waste that the children were playing with,” said Mthembu.

Another parent, Avi Nyawassi, whose 3-year-old had also been playing with the blood, was also extremely distressed about the incident and said that the children didn’t know what they were doing.

“The children went outside to play around the yard and when they came back, they were carrying test tubes and blood was spilling everywhere. The blood was on their hands, shoes and clothes,” she said.

The parents approached the owner of the private laboratory, medical technologist Ntombifikile Mnisi, who explained to them what was done at the laboratory.

According to the parents Mnisi also said that some of her blood tests were for patients who had been diagnosed with HIV and have to have their CD4 count checked.

The horrified parents immediately collected their children from school and they were taken to the clinic.

Mnisi said that the laboratory did screening for many blood-related illnesses and while she did not want to comment on the incident, she said, “the place is fenced but it’s only the gate that’s not there”.

Nyawassi confirmed that her child was also taken to the clinic.

“They tested my child and it came back negative, but my child still suffers from the side effects; he always sleeps till 1pm and constantly suffers from diarrhoea and vomiting.”

She added that the children’s mothers went to the police station to report the matter, but that police had informed them it was a civil case.

Professor Lucille Blumberg of the Institute for Communicable Diseases said that there were “very strict protocols” regarding storage and security for laboratories.

“A formal investigation needs to be done and future incidents need to be prevented,” said Blumberg.

She added that the incident had been reported to local authorities and that the local communicable diseases unit had tested the children and provided preventative treatment.

At the time of publication the provincial Department of Health had not replied to our request for comment on the matter.

Independent on Saturday