Even as High Court of Jharkhand has served notice to it,the state government’s Health Department(HD) appears to be caught on ‘wrong foot’ as enquiring into the ‘source’ of the alleged HIV-Positive infection identified among five children in East Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, is yet to reveal the truth.

The blood bank in Chaibasa, managed and run by the state government lacks modern equipments to check the quality of blood taken and transfused to people. No inspection was carried by any competent doctors and technicians since long. 

That is not the subject of concern for health service providers of the state government. Efforts seem to be on to carry forward inquiry into this shocking case. 

HD Director Dinesh Kumar has confirmed that probe is going on to find out how these children including a seven-year-old thalassemia patient reportedly tested HIV-positive after receiving blood transfusions at the government-run hospital in Chaibasa town of Jharkhand’s East Singhbhum district.

The Civil Surgeon of Chaibasa has ordered a team of doctors to collect blood samples of these affected children, test them and examine the lab and blood bottles from which they were injected transfused blood.

The report is expected to come out by October end, say authorities. However, investigation revealed that the official investigators involved in the ‘inquiry’ are either lack skill or find the Chaibasa blood bank run by the state government bereft of a fine blood testing devise such as simple glucose testing machine. 

As of now,the incident has sparked outrage and panic across the state’s health department, prompting an immediate investigation by a high-level medical team from Ranchi.

The matter first came to light on Friday when the family of a thalassemia-affected child alleged that HIV-infected blood was transfused to him at the Chaibasa Sadar Hospital blood bank.

Following the complaint, the Jharkhand government dispatched a five-member medical team, led by Dr Dinesh Kumar, to investigate the allegations.

Initial findings have made the situation even graver. During the team’s inspection on Saturday, four more children suffering from thalassemia were found to be HIV-positive, taking the total number of affected minors to five. All the children had been receiving regular transfusions at the same hospital.

The revelation has triggered widespread alarm. “Initial investigation indicates that contaminated blood was transfused to a thalassemia patient. Some discrepancies were detected in the blood bank during the probe, and the officials concerned have been directed to resolve them,” Dr. Dinesh Kumar told reporters.

Right now, the hospital’s blood bank has been placed under emergency operations mode and will only cater to critical cases for the next few days.

The probe team, which included Dr Shipra Das, Dr SS Paswan, Dr Bhagat, District Civil Surgeon Dr Sushanto Kumar Majhee, Dr Shivcharan Hansda, and Dr Minu Kumari, inspected both the blood bank and the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). The team also interacted with the families of the affected children.

According to preliminary observations, several irregularities were found in the blood bank’s functioning — including lapses in blood sample testing, record maintenance, and adherence to safety protocols. A report detailing these irregularities has been submitted to the state health department.

District Civil Surgeon Dr. Sushanto Kumar Majhee said that a thorough probe is underway to determine how the infection spread. Majhee, however, added that it would be “premature to conclude” that the infection came solely from the blood transfusion, noting that HIV infection could also occur due to other factors, including exposure to contaminated needles.

The family of the first infected child has lodged a complaint with the district administration and state government, demanding accountability and justice. Local representatives have also called for a high-level inquiry.

Manjhari Zila Parishad member Madhav Chandra Kunkal alleged that the incident may have been driven by “personal vendetta,” claiming that a dispute involving a blood bank employee and the child’s relative had been pending in court for a year.

The incident has now reached the Jharkhand High Court, which has taken note of the matter and sought a report from the state health secretary and the district civil surgeon.

Currently, West Singhbhum district has 515 HIV-positive cases and 56 thalassemia patients, according to official records. Health officials have been directed to trace all blood donors linked to the transfusions in question to prevent further spread.

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