The University of Geneva settles HIV case
The University of Geneva (UNIGE) has settled a legal case involving an Italian student who contracted HIV in 2011 while carrying out research in one of its laboratories.
“The parties wish, in the interests of peace, to put a stop to the judicial proceedings in progress,” said a UNIGE spokesperson on Tuesday, confirming information published by the University of Padua. The compensation is estimated at around CHF140,000 ($159,248).
“The transaction in the process of finalisation does not imply any acknowledgement of liability or claims by either party,” added the press release.
More
Geneva researchers find old drug helps fight antibiotic resistance
The Italian student, whose identity remains confidential, completed a study exchange at UNIGE in 2011 as part of the Erasmus European university programme, according to the Italian press. She had to carry out research for her thesis and worked in a UNIGE laboratory using the antibodies of the HIV.
Transmission unknown
After returning to Italy, she continued to live a normal life until 2019, when she was found to be HIV-positive. How she contracted the virus remains however unknown. Italian laboratories concluded, on the basis of a genetic analysis, that the virus the young woman was carrying was identical to those created in the laboratory in Geneva. Following these conclusions, she launched a judicial battle that was finally settled by an amicable agreement.
More
Switzerland aims for zero HIV and hepatitis infections by 2030
Translated from German by DeepL/amva
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
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.