Saved From False HIV Diagnosis

Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - February 27, 2005
Isaac Mahlangu, Johannesburg

TODDLER Sam van Houten nearly landed up as an Aids orphan with little hope of a real chance in life. He was abandoned at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital shortly after his birth in 2003 and was later incorrectly diagnosed as HIV-positive.

When staff moved him to a hospice, he was tested again, using an alternative Aids testing kit for children. Sam tested negative. He has since been adopted by a family from Luxembourg, in Europe, and lives a happy life with his adoptive sibling, Guatemalan-born Martha.

His adoptive parents, Jan and Lisa van Houten, said they were thrilled to have him. "It's hard to describe in words how thrilled we are. We feel blessed and consider him a gift from God," said Lisa. They said that Sam had adjusted well to life in Europe and had developed a good friendship with his sister Martha.

"He loves to be cuddled and he loves to tease his older sister," said Lisa. Sam's life changed thanks to the work of the Children's Homes Outreach Medical Programme (Chomp), an organisation that gives medical support to homes for abandoned children. Co-founder of Chomp, Dr Michelle Meiring, stumbled upon Sam when she did her rounds at a hospice in Johannesburg.

"When I first saw him, he was very small and thin for his age," said Meiring. She then arranged with a social worker to retest Sam, using the alternative PCR HIV- testing kit. Most government hospitals use the HIV-Elisa test.

Meiring said that Chomp regularly tested children diagnosed as HIV-positive. Since 2003, Chomp has tested 541 children, 254 of whom were previously diagnosed as HIV-positive. But the PCR test indicated that 82% of those who had tested HIV-positive were HIV-negative. It's only when a baby is 18 months old that an HIV-Elisa test will be accurate, said Meiring.

"If we wait for 18 months, it's going to be difficult to place the child for adoption," she added. Most people seeking to adopt want children under the age of 18 months. If Sam had not been tested again, his chances of being adopted would have been slim. Private social worker Joan Nathanson said it was tough enough to find homes for healthy children in need. "If we battle to place healthy children, how much more will we battle to place HIV- infected children?" asked Nathanson.

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