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Karachi Hospital Outbreak Leaves at Least 130 HIV-Positive, Mostly Children
At least 130 people, most of them children, have tested HIV-positive in connection with an outbreak at Kulsum Bai Valika Hospital in Karachi. Screenings of more than 10,500 people identified 120 cases at the facility, with 10 more found at another SESSI site in Landhi.
Jul 17, 3:33 AM·2m read1 source
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At least 130 people, most of them children, have tested HIV-positive in connection with an outbreak at Kulsum Bai Valika Hospital in Karachi, Al Jazeera reported. More than 10,500 people were screened in and around the Sindh Employees’ Social Security Institution facility, where 120 tested positive, Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani said.
A separate screening at another SESSI facility in Karachi’s Landhi area identified 10 additional cases.
The crisis first came to public attention in November 2025. Officials trace the outbreak to October 2025, when the first six HIV-positive cases were reported to the provincial health department. Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah was briefed on July 14, 2026, that two internal inquiries had found serious lapses at the hospital, including poor adherence to infection prevention protocols.
The first inquiry, submitted in November 2025, identified 16 HIV-positive children linked to the paediatrics department. A second inquiry, submitted to the provincial ombudsman on June 19, 2026, confirmed 78 infections and six deaths. Thirty-seven doctors and hospital staff received show-cause notices on July 3, 2026, and were given 14 days to respond.
Ghani said on July 4, 2026, that the infections were not caused by syringe reuse because the hospital uses auto-disable syringes. The Sindh High Court has given the provincial government until July 20, 2026, to respond to a petition alleging violations of provincial syringe laws. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered a nationwide ban on substandard syringes on July 3, 2026.
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan announced that retail sales of conventional reusable syringes will be banned from January 2027. Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal stated that HIV screening will become mandatory before surgery nationwide.
