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The University of Geneva settles HIV case

HIV testing vials in laboratory.
The way in which the student contracted the virus remains unknown. KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / GAETAN BALLY

The University of Geneva (UNIGE) has settled a legal case involving an Italian student who contracted HIV in 2011 while carrying out research in one of its laboratories.

“The parties wish, in the interests of peace, to put a stop to the judicial proceedings in progress,” said a UNIGE spokesperson on Tuesday, confirming information published by the University of Padua. The compensation is estimated at around CHF140,000 ($159,248).

“The transaction in the process of finalisation does not imply any acknowledgement of liability or claims by either party,” added the press release.

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The Italian student, whose identity remains confidential, completed a study exchange at UNIGE in 2011 as part of the Erasmus European university programme, according to the Italian press. She had to carry out research for her thesis and worked in a UNIGE laboratory using the antibodies of the HIV.

Transmission unknown

After returning to Italy, she continued to live a normal life until 2019, when she was found to be HIV-positive. How she contracted the virus remains however unknown. Italian laboratories concluded, on the basis of a genetic analysis, that the virus the young woman was carrying was identical to those created in the laboratory in Geneva. Following these conclusions, she launched a judicial battle that was finally settled by an amicable agreement.

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Translated from German by DeepL/amva

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