Student receives compensation in Geneva after HIV infection

The University of Geneva (Unige) will compensate an Italian student who became infected with the HIV virus in 2011 while conducting research in one of its laboratories. The two sides have signed an agreement that ends a legal dispute.

Those involved wanted to end the ongoing legal procedure in the interest of peace, a university spokesperson told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Wednesday. He confirmed information published by the University of Padua (I). The compensation is therefore approximately 140,000 francs.

The settlement, which is currently being finalized, does not include any admission of any liability or claims by either party, the spokesperson added.

According to the media, the Italian student completed a study exchange in Geneva in 2011 as part of the European university program Erasmus. She would conduct research to complete her dissertation and worked in a laboratory with samples of the HIV virus. This is a known sexually transmitted virus and can cause the immune deficiency disease AIDS.

After returning to Italy, the student led a normal life until she discovered in 2019 during an examination before donating blood that she had tested positive for HIV. However, it remained a mystery how she could have become infected with the virus.

Based on genetic sequencing, Italian laboratories concluded that the virus the young woman carried was “identical to the viruses created in the laboratory in Geneva,” the newspaper wrote. To substantiate these conclusions, she started a legal dispute that ultimately ended with an amicable settlement. (sda/afp/lyn)