Parents accused of hiding daughter's HIV infection and neglect

Prosecutors in Italy are seeking charges against the parents of a nine-year-old girl alleged to have been infected with HIV and deprived of medical care for years.

“- Published Prosecutors in Italy are seeking charges against the parents of a nine-year-old girl alleged to have been infected with HIV and deprived of medical care for years”

BBC

The couple face charges of grave mistreatment leading to serious injury, Italian media say.

BBC

The BBC has approached the Bologna prosecutor's office for comment.

The girl's mother is said to have hidden her HIV-positive status during pregnancy and travelled to Spain to give birth in 2017.

The couple then returned to Italy, but their daughter was alleged not to have been seen by any medical professionals until six years later when she became very ill.

BBC

According to accounts in the Italian media, the couple's daughter was born "outside any medical establishment" and her parents took no measures to ascertain if the infection had been passed on or to arrange medical visits or vaccinations.

It was only in July 2023 that they finally took her to see a doctor following a fever and persistent coughing.

“- Published Prosecutors in Italy are seeking charges against the parents of a nine-year-old girl alleged to have been infected with HIV and deprived of medical care for years”

BBC

The child appeared malnourished, had difficulty walking, her teeth were in poor condition and she was still wearing nappies, Italian media say, and the doctor recommended immediate hospital care, even threatening to call the police given the parents' reluctance to agree to it.

It was in hospital that the child's HIV condition was discovered, with the parents eventually revealing the sequence of events.

According to Corriere della Sera newspaper, the couple deny being opposed to vaccines or that they went to Spain to evade medical controls in Italy and say it was because the mother's family - of Colombian origin - live there.

They also say the child had had medical care in Spain until 2019 when they returned to Italy and that it was only in 2022 that they registered her with a private doctor in Bologna.

BBC

The couple's lawyer says the case will determine whether the parents intended to harm their daughter and a hearing has been scheduled in May.