Pensioner infected with HIV from blood transfusion
An 80-year-old Swiss man has been infected with HIV through a blood transfusion, according to the transfusion service of the Swiss Red Cross. It's the first case of its kind in five years.
According to the Red Cross, the pensioner received the infected blood in February following an operation.
The organisation said it was likely that the donor had been infected with HIV just days before giving blood as tests used to screen the donated blood had failed to detect the presence of the virus.
It’s the first time anyone in Switzerland is known to have contracted the virus in this way since June 1996.
The Red Cross said the chance of contracting a disease such as Aids or Hepatitis C through a blood transfusion was around one in a million.
In Switzerland 450,000 transfusions are carried out every year.
swissinfo with agencies
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.