A false positive result for HIV became a legal case in Ceilândia, in the Federal District. The case happened to a patient at Hospital São Francisco, who reportedly confirmed positive serology for a patient who had just come out of labor, on September 11, 2016. As a result of the result, the mother had her breasts bandaged and was prohibited from breastfeeding the child to avoid vertical infection – when HIV transmission occurs directly from mother to child through pregnancy or breastfeeding. Furthermore, the plaintiff alleges that she was subjected to AZT and niverapine, drugs used to control HIV. The medications were also used on the child, which resulted in side effects. In the process, the woman also says that the positive result resulted in a series of upheavals in her life, and that her husband almost divorced her after being accused of infidelity. At the hospital, she claims to have been a victim of prejudice by professionals who started to treat her differently after the test. After months in court, the 2nd Civil Court of the administrative region ordered Hospital São Francisco to compensate the family with R$40, R$15 for the wife, R$15 for the husband and R$10 for the child. “When carrying out the activity he is carrying out, the defendant should take every precaution to ensure that a false positive diagnosis does not cause such suffering to his patients”, declared the judge in his decision. According to information from the newspaper Correio Braziliense, the hospital stated that it had not yet been notified of the decision and, therefore, would not comment on the matter. However, when “once notified, an appeal will be filed”.
