Health investigation establishes 512 cases of uninformed HIV patients

SANTIAGO.- The Minister of Health, Álvaro Erazo, stood before the members of the Health Commission of the Chamber of Deputies and confirmed that an investigation performed in recent days has established that there are 512 uninformed HIV patients within the public health system.

Of the patients, 244 were allegedly searched for but have still not bee located and notified of their status. The other 268 cases involved patients who were not even attempted to be notified.

According to Erazo, the services that have been revealed as having the highest number of uninformed patients are the Servicio Metropolitano Norte, which controls the San José Hospital, and the Servicio Metropolitano Central, where the San Borja Arriarán and the Posta Central medical centers are located.

Of the 28 public medical services throughout the country only six have been reported without any HIV notification problems.

Meanwhile, within the private sector, the number of cases has not been confirmed, although it is estimated that there are 1,174 people throughout the country who do not know they are HIV positive.