Mexico seizes almost 47,000 faulty HIV test kits

MEXICO CITY – The latest in a series of health care scandals is hitting Mexico with the government’s seizure of almost 47,000 Chinese-made HIV testing kits that it says could give false negative results.

The government’s medical oversight agency says the kits “could give false negatives and put at risk the lives of patients who didn’t receive medical treatment.”

The agency said late Monday the kits were seized at a government medical warehouse in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.

That’s the same state where officials have accused a previous administration of supplying fake medicines for state-run hospitals. The current Veracruz governor says an inert substance was administered to children instead of a cancer drug.

However, the federal health department said it had made 20 inspection visits since Jan. 18 to health centres in Veracruz and had found no evidence that fake medications or an inert substance had been given to cancer patients at those facilities.