On December 1, news was given that a newborn baby was among those infected with HIV/AIDS. On November 28, 2021, the child fell ill with bronchitis only 1 month after birth, and was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit at the 'Mother Teresa' University Hospital Center.
The baby was hospitalized for almost 10 days, and after leaving the hospital, his health did not improve. A few days after leaving the hospital, the child suddenly developed a temperature of 39 degrees, which alarmed the parents. Until March 2022, the child underwent a series of examinations in hospitals. Unbeknownst to the parents, one of these examinations was an HIV/AIDS test.
"From the moment he was born until he was diagnosed, the boy spent more time in the hospital, in the re-amination of the hospital at QSUT. There is an epicrisis issued by the doctor, which casts doubt on immunodeficiency. Why did he not do the analysis before? The infection has several stages. He has a strange temperature, constant diarrhea, weight loss. The investigation lasted only 20 days that we requested and the report was developed in June. In Albania, no protocol is followed for the case of HIV, the PCR came in Turkey, it was positive . It is not disputed, but the doctor was not satisfied and insisted that the boy does not have it and thought it was cross-COVID. A cross, let's say, that is, a false positive. That's why 10 more tests were done. I don't forgive myself but my soul," - say the parents of the minor infected by HIV-AIDS for "Alshqiperia Live".
The parents filed a lawsuit against the hospital, but prosecutor Saimir Hysa decided not to initiate criminal proceedings. While in the official document issued by the Prosecutor's Office of Tirana it is written:
"The whistleblowers filed a complaint against the defendants, claiming that illegal actions were committed, which resulted in harm to the life of their unborn child. The whistleblowers submit that the staff of the Queen's Maternity Hospital Geraldine" and the pediatric hospital near QSUT, actions were carried out, which harmed the life of an unborn baby. The consequence came as a result of the negligence of the staff of these institutions."
But according to the parents, the investigations have been closed and the reason was that the child was not yet born when it is alleged that he was infected.
"We were not interrogated, but the prosecutor did not carry out any investigation," - added the parents of the minor.
In the 10th month of 2022, 80 new cases were identified, among them 2 children. Compared to the same period last year, where 91 cases were identified, the figure is a little lower, but no children of such ages, with negative parents, were infected. The family members describe the incident as extremely serious and underline that they have not found a solution from the Albanian authorities, while they say that their lives have been destroyed by this situation.