The government in the Australian state of Victoria has supported doctors who informed 400 people who came into contact with an HIV-positive healthcare worker only six months after the worker notified authorities of being infected.
The authorities were informed that 399 residents of an
undisclosed Victorian town have been treated by an HIV-positive
dentist in January, but the Victorian Health Department sent
letters notifying the potentially infected people of the matter
only in July.
However, Victorian Premier Denis Napthin believes that there was
nothing wrong in the half-year delay.
“In these matters it isn’t for politicians to second guess
the doctors and the medical experts, who are the appropriate ones
to make decisions and to give advice on dealing with these health
matters,” Napthine is cited as saying by AAP.
The premier expressed confidence that Victoria’s chief medical
officer, Rosemary Lester, had handled the situation in accordance
with national rules and guidelines.
Earlier Lester said that the chances that infection passes from a
healthcare worker to a patient are very low.
“We are erring on the side of caution and recommending blood
test to rule out the presence of HIV,” she said.
Over 120 people in Victoria have been already tested, with all of
them being negative.
“We trust and hope that the assessment from the medical
experts of a low risk comes to fruition and that all the people
contacted through this trace-back test will test negative,”
Napthine stressed.
Victorian Health Minister David Davis has complained that the
process of tracking down all potentially exposed patients was
“complex.”
A panel of experts, gathered to deal with the situation, has
performed its duties “thoroughly” in timing consistent similar
incidents interstate, he added.
But the opposition isn’t satisfied with the explanation, accusing
the government of being sluggish in dealing with the HIV scare.
“Denis Napthine needs to explain why it took seven months
from the health worker being diagnosed to community being
informed,” Jenny Mikakos, Victorian shadow minister for
community services, children, seniors and ageing, stressed.
“This is an extremely serious matter and the community deserves
answers," she added.
The human immunodeficiency virus has recently became a serious
concern for Victoria as in 2013 the state saw the highest number
of new HIV diagnoses since the height of the epidemic in the
early 1990s.
According to the figures recently released by the Australian
Department of Health, 303 people were diagnosed with HIV in
Victoria last year, which is a 16 percent increase compared to
261 diagnoses in 2012.