CDC Investigates Pediatric HIV Outbreak in Kazakhstan
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| With funding from USAID, CDC is assisting to improve blood screening
procedures in the region |
Earlier this year, at the request of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) participated in an epidemiological investigation of an HIV outbreak among children aged 6-24 months in southern Kazakhstan. Initial cases were detected in February; as of September, the number of infected children is reported as 76.
Beginning on May 10, CDC staff, including its Blood Safety Program Manager, two students from the USAID-supported CDC’s Applied Epidemiology Training Program, and specialists from the Republican and South-Kazakhstan oblast AIDS centers, designed and conducted a scientific outbreak investigation. The study found that infections were likely caused by unsafe use of blood and blood products and lack of infection control procedures during medical interventions.
Although CDC had provided related recommendations in the past, the outbreak indicates the need for further work to ensure proper and comprehensive implementation of these recommendations.
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