The apex AIDS body Mumbai District AIDS Control Society (MDACS) has transferred two staffers of Integrated Centre for Testing and Counselling (ICTC) at a civic-run hospital, and issued them strict warning memos on Thursday, for issuing a report erroneously labelling Firdos Sagar, 24, as HIV-positive.

The negative report resulted in stress-induced miscarriage of her (Firdos) 7-weeks old foetus. Her miscarriage occurred within two weeks of the report.

After an internal inquiry conducted at MW Desai Hospital at Malad, it was found that the lab technician Sheetal Salve and the counsellor Raju Chourey were responsible for the whole episode.

On May 8, Goregaon (E) resident Firdos Sagar went to the civic-run hospital to get her third child aborted.

As per protocol, she was sent in for an HIV/Aids examination at the Integrated Centre for Testing and Counselling (ICTC) within the hospital.

Firdos was given a report labelling her as HIV-positive.

However, Firdos and her husband Nazim, 33, could not believe the result. They went to two other hospitals for confirmation.

They took the HIV examination at Cooper Hospital and a private hospital, and the results proved the previous reports negative.

The couple complained to different agencies about the whole matter before it finally came into notice of MDACS.

Firdos, a mother of two, said that she was even suicidal after she came to know that she was HIV positive.

“We went through hell and during that time I lost my baby,” she said.

AIDS chief S Kudalkar told that the agency had forwarded strict instructions to all examining and counselling centres to follow counselling rules.

Mr. Kudalkar said, “Lab technician Sheetal Salve and counsellor Raju Choure were issued warning memos and transferred out of the hospital as they were wrong.”

He also said that since Firdos was from a low-risk group, the counsellor should have sent the result for a re-check.

He added that the mistake made is unforgivable.

Her husband, Naazim, said he raked up the whole matter as he didn't want anyone else to go through the pain that he and his wife suffered due to a wrong report.