{
  "id": 10145810,
  "title": "Four dialysis patients test positive for HIV at Mian Channu hospital",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/four-dialysis-patients-test-positive-for-hiv-at-mian-channu-hospital-10145810",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-27T03:05:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn",
    "slug": "dawn",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2032880/four-dialysis-patients-test-positive-for-hiv-at-mian-channu-hospital"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "LAHORE - Recently, four dialysis patients at the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Mian Channu have tested positive for HIV, sparking worries about infection control in healthcare facilities of south Punjab. The patients, who included three women, were undergoing dialysis at the hospital when they were diagnosed with the virus. The hospital administration has transferred the patients to Nishtar Hospital Multan for further medical assessment and treatment. Hospital officials informed the media that over 60 patients were receiving dialysis at their facility and assured that HIV could not be transmitted through the dialysis process. They stated that they were investigating the situation. However, sources claim that more dialysis patients might have tested positive, though this has not been confirmed by the officials. HIV cases in healthcare facilities have been reported in Punjab in recent years, including an outbreak at Nishtar Hospital Multan in November 2024, where around 30 kidney patients contracted HIV during dialysis, with one patient succumbing to complications. A subsequent investigation conducted by a Punjab government fact-finding committee confirmed the outbreak and identified violations in dialysis guidelines and SOPs. In 2026, a scientific study linked the Multan cases to a similar outbreak in Taunsa, where 106 children tested HIV positive. The government established a screening and treatment center at the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital and took action against senior health officials. A joint mission comprising WHO, UNICEF, UNAIDS, and other partners carried out door-to-door screening of around 50,000 individuals in the affected area, supplying auto-disable syringes to government hospitals and sealing hundreds of clinics allegedly run by quacks. The Punjab AIDS Control Programme provides free HIV testing, counseling, treatment, diagnostic services, and follow-up care, with more than 14,000 patients receiving treatment. As of December 2025, 84,421 HIV cases have been registered in Pakistan, with 60,785 receiving antiretroviral therapy at 98 centers.",
  "summary": "LAHORE: Four patients undergoing dialysis at the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital (THQ), Mian Channu, have tested positive for HIV, raising fresh concerns about infection-control practices at healthcare facilities in south Punjab. According to the reports available with Dawn , the patients, including three women, who had been receiving dialysis at the hospital tested positive for the deadly virus…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Dawn - Pakistan",
        "title": "Four dialysis patients test positive for HIV at Mian Channu hospital",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/four-dialysis-patients-test-positive-for-hiv-at-mian-channu-hospital",
        "published": "2026-09-27T03:05:48.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}