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Medical lab techs take offence to HIV-positive disclosures 

01 Nov 2022

  • Slam STD/AIDS Control Programme for telling media about HIV+ patients in unethical manner, call for Health Ministry probe   
  • Control Programme denies allegation, says only affected groups revealed for awareness 
 BY Buddhika Samaraweera Claiming that the National Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD)/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Control Programme is disclosing information about Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infected patients to the media in a way that is against health-related ethics, the College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS) has stated that the Ministry of Health should investigate the matter. Speaking to The Morning, CMLS President Ravi Kumudesh said: “We have seen National STD/AIDS Control Programme Director Dr. Rasanjali Hettiarachchi exposing information about HIV infections to the media in recent days. This is against medical ethics. Officials do not have the right to expose information about patients in that way. Therefore, the Ministry should take steps to investigate this matter. We have also made a request with regard to this.” However, when contacted by The Morning, Dr. Hettiarachchi denied these allegations, stating that the programme has only revealed that the spread of HIV has increased among certain groups, and that no infected person's personal information has been exposed to the media. By informing the people about the groups among whom there is an increase in the spread of HIV, she said, it is hoped to draw attention to the issue. “When doing anything, there are both positive and negative opinions about it. By making people aware that the spread of HIV has increased among certain social groups, we hope to draw the attention of those groups and other related parties. For example, if the HIV spread has increased among university students, the university administration and the parents should pay attention to it. That is the only objective of exposing such information,” she explained. The Control Programme recently pointed out the need for the provision of proper sex education, citing the significant increase in HIV infections among youth between the ages of 15 and 24 years, and AIDS-related deaths during 2021 and 2022. According to the website of the programme, a total of 410 HIV infections have been reported in 2021, of which 59 infections were among youth aged between 15 and 24 years.   


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