An Italian woman who contracted the AIDS virus at the University of Geneva where she was carrying out scientific research has obtained compensation from the Swiss establishment, the Italian University of Padua (North) told AFP on Wednesday. on which she depended.
The Italian, whose identity remains confidential, carried out a study exchange in 2011 at the University of Geneva as part of the European university program Erasmus, according to the Italian press.
She had to carry out research to complete her thesis and had worked in a laboratory at the University of Geneva using samples of the AIDS virus.
Returning to Italy, she continued a normal life until 2019, when, during an examination to be able to donate blood, she discovered that she was positive for the AIDS virus.
However, the mystery remains regarding how she contracted it.
An amicable agreement
Italian laboratories conclude, on the basis of genetic sequencing, that the virus carried by the young woman
“is identical to those which were designed in the laboratory”
in Geneva, writes the newspaper.
In support of these conclusions, she began a legal battle which ultimately ended with an amicable agreement and compensation of 145,000 euros.
The agreement provides for the abandonment of legal proceedings, the University of Padua told AFP.
The University of Geneva, contacted by AFP, did not immediately respond.