70 new HIV cases found in Kyrgyz children

Health officials in Kyrgyzstan said they have diagnosed 70 new cases of HIV among children during a widespread check following a scandal over transmission of the virus in hospitals, AP reported. The Health Ministry said in a statement late Thursday that more than 110,000 children born between 2004 and 2009 in the Osh and Jalal-Abad provinces have been screened since last year. More than a dozen hospital workers were charged with negligence leading to the transmission of the HIV virus to almost 200 children in that region over the six-year period. Six have been convicted and sentenced to three years in prison.