Nine medical workers, who due to their negligence were responsible to infect 24 children with the virus of HIV, have been convicted by a court in the Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan.

All from one hospital, three doctors have been sentenced to three years of jail for causing infection through negligence. Another six medical workers were not found guilty and thus the charges against them were dropped.

The guilty doctors are also supposed to pay compensation to the victim’s families. An official, who didn’t want to be named, said that the infections were caused due to poor hygiene and equipment at hospital and also infectious blood transfusion.

It’s very heartbreaking to know that more than 70 children have been infected with HIV in the region since last year, out of which four death reports have come forward. The Central Asian Republic is shocked to see the outbreak and is highly concerned regarding the public health and hygiene conditions at the medical centers and healthy workers.

Since the break-up of the USSR, the former Soviet republic has struggled to fund its health care system. There have been similar cases in the neighboring countries. 150 children were infected with HIV last year due to the negligence of doctors in Kazakhstan, and 21 medical workers were sentenced to prison regarding this case.