Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
BBC News - September 26, 2006
At least 61 children have tested positive for HIV after receiving blood transfusions at a paediatric clinic near Shymkent in the country's south.
A further 12,000 children are now being screened for exposure to the virus.
Kazakhstan's health minister and the regional governor were both fired over the scandal last week.
Donors paid
The children are thought to have been infected either through unsterilised equipment or through contaminated blood.
The BBC's Stephanie Irvine said that donors are paid for their blood transfusions in Kazakhstan and local authorities are searching for a number of donors who may be HIV carriers.
The first cases emerged in July and all those infected were between two months and 10 years old.
According to the Kazakhstan Today news agency, charges have been brought against the former regional health director, two of his deputies and five doctors.
Investigations are also taking place into the forged signatures of six donors who had been paid for their blood, the agency reported.
AIDS prevention officials in Shymkent told Agence France-Presse that at least 2,700 children may have come into direct contact with HIV.
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