Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - June 8, 2000
Aphaluck Bhatiasevi
Nirandon Khamchaiphum displays a medical examination certificate which states wrongly that he is HIV-ivfected - Kosol Nakachol Nirandon Khamchaiphum, 27, said he suffered great distress when wrongly diagnosed as being HIV-positive. He had thought seriously about committing suicide and had lost education and career opportunities.
"I was very distressed and asked a friend to buy me a gun because I wanted to kill myself. But I had only 3,000 baht and the gun cost 6,000 baht so I wasn't able to go through with it.
"Mr Nirandon submitted documents for health permanent secretary Sucharit Sripraphan to consider, including photocopies of his out-patient card declaring him HIV-infected and a letter dated March 17 confirming that he was in the second phase of HIV infection. He said he lost hope and quit the non-formal education courses he was attending.
He had planned to join the police academy afterwards. Mr Nirandon learned he was HIV-positive on March 9, 1998. For over a year he was given drugs to prevent opportunistic infections, tuberculosis and fungal ailments. He suffered severe side-effects from the medication.
Mr Nirandon stopped visiting the hospital in August 1999 after learning a staff member had told his non-HIV friend that he was HIV-positive. "My friends teased me and I was in real bad shape. My elder brother had just died of Aids," he said. Blood tests early this year confirmed that he had hepatitis B and not HIV.
Dr Sompon Anwongsa, director of Mae Taeng hospital, said the mistake had probably occurred because the patient suffered from hepatitis B. HIV tests were 99.5% accurate.
Officials tried unsuccessfully to contact Mr Nirandon at his home for another blood test. During the same period Mr Nirandon attended the hospital's out-patient department every month, Dr Sompon admitted. "Home care staff did not want to leave a message with his parents, because his elder brother had died of HIV/Aids and his father suffers from hypertension."
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