PM Robert Fico, who yesterday concluded a two-day trip to Libya, offered his African hosts a chance to have HIV-positive Libyan children treated in Slovakia. Slovak doctors were taken aback by the suggestion, as they have no experience in treating young HIV patients.
According to the Pravda daily, HIV cases in Slovakia have so far only involved adult patients.
“Nobody has any experience with treating HIV positive children here,” said Danica Staneková, the head of the national HIV prevention center.
Doctors believe that Fico’s offer was a political rather than a medical move.
Fico offered a two-week free course of treatment to infected children. Slovak doctors said treatments lasting only two weeks do not really help HIV patients.
“I can’t really imagine a two-week treatment procedure. In that time a few tests can be done and possibly some treatment can be proposed. Nobody consulted this with us, so I don’t really want to comment on it,” said Igor Stankovič, the head of the infectious diseases clinics in Bratislava.
