The lab under investigation is owned by a relative of the former health secretary and won a bid worth R$ 11.4 million.

The PCS Lab Salem laboratory, which is being investigated in the case of six transplant patients who contracted HIV after receiving virus-infected organs in Rio de Janeiro, is owned by a relative of a former health secretary called Dr. Luisinho, now federal deputy and president of the House of Representatives. The company worked with the government on a tender worth R$11.4 million. The three contracts signed in 2023 total more than R$17.5 million.

According to information compiled in CruzaGrafos the managing partners of Patologia Clínica Doutor Saleme Ltda are three: Marcia Nunes Vieira, Walter Vieira and Matheus Sales Teixeira Bandoli Vieira. Walter married Dr. Luisinho, aunt of Luis Antonio de Souza Teixeira Jr. Matheus is his cousin – and the man who signed the contracts with the Rio de Janeiro government, describing himself as a “managing partner”.

Luizinho took over the state health department in January 2023 and held the position until September of the same year, when he was fired. In parallel, last year, contracts between PCS Lab Salem and the Rio government were signed in February, October and December as determined by Terra.

In a press release, Dr. Lucino says he has known Salem Lab for more than 30 years. He mentions that the company was run by Dr. Montano and then passed on to Walter Vieira and his sisters.

“I deeply regret what has happened and I hope that at the end of the investigations, those responsible for these very serious cases of infection will be given exemplary punishment. As state health secretary, I maintained the same team from the state transplant program as the previous administration, and I never participated in the hiring of this or any other laboratory. Whoever it is.”

PSC Lab's social networks were offline this Friday, the 11th, when the case came to light. But the company's website, which is still online, describes the business as “a group of laboratories that has served the Baixada Fluminense region with tests at popular prices for over 50 years”.

What are the contracts?

oh Terra Throughout 2023, PCS Lab had access to contracts signed between Saleme and the government of Rio de Janeiro — which, in most cases, contained a “special waiver” signed without going through an electronic bidding system or wider bidding process. Competition.

See more details:

• February 2023. Contract with Fundaçção Saúde with a 'bid discount' for the company to carry out clinical laboratory, physical-chemical and microbiological analysis tests in 24-hour emergency departments. Valid for 180 days from signature. Agreement signed R$2.1 million.

• October 2023. Another contract with a health foundation was awarded without bidding. In this case, undergo clinical and pathological anatomical analyzes at the Ricardo Cruz State Hospital (Hercruz) for 180 days. In other words, it continued until this year. The contract value was R$3.8 million.

• December 2023. This is the first contract to be auctioned through electronic bidding. There was a one-year commitment to carry out clinical analysis and pathological anatomy examinations “to serve the units under the management of the Health Foundation”. The combined value is R$9.7 million. But, in February this year, there was an increase in the enrollment period R$ 11.4 millionThe laboratory can also serve two medical centers.

'Unacceptable'

On a note TerraThe State Health Department (SES) said the company's services were suspended after learning about the case, and after that, tests began to be carried out by Homerio under the charge of a private laboratory. This happened in September, with three months left for the auction agreement to close. In the official gazette of the state of São Paulo, the health surveillance closed the laboratory as a precaution on October 8.

And according to the secretariat, all the donor blood samples saved from the December auction deal will remain Reassessed. “A multidisciplinary team was formed to welcome the affected patients and steps were immediately taken to ensure the safety of transplant recipients,” the note added, calling it “unacceptable” and “unprecedented”.

The Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro opened a civil investigation this Friday, the 11th, to investigate the case, as the process remains confidential. “If there are measures to be taken, the relevant information will be forwarded to the Department of Health and Social Care,” they add.

Also, the Ministry of Health ordered an audit of the transplantation system in Rio state by the National Audit Department of the Integrated Health Organization (TENASUS). In the civil police, the case is handled by the Department of Consumer Police (Decon), which has among its responsibilities the investigation of public health cases.

oh Terra Attempts to contact the firm's three managing partners and the lab in search of positions. The space remains open and will be updated if a response is received.

What happened?

The Rio de Janeiro State Department of Health (SES) confirmed that six patients who received transplants contaminated with the virus were infected with HIV. According to the Rio government, the error occurred in a blood test performed by PCS Lab Salem, a private laboratory located in Nova Iguazu. Apart from six patients, two donors were HIV positive.

The case was discovered in September after a heart transplant patient developed health problems. Upon admission to the hospital, the patient underwent a new blood test which confirmed the virus. Before the transplant, he was HIV positive. This case was first reported BandNews FM and affirmed by Terra.

According to columnist Lauro Jardim's information from the newspaper The Globethe company was already ordered to pay R$10,000 in compensation to a woman who received a false result in an HIV test. This case happened 14 years ago.

Between June and July 2010, the woman received two positive HIV reports after a pre-operative test. The lawsuit occurred because he was an SUS patient, and the lab contracted Belfort Roxo's Department of Health.

After the said diagnosis, the patient sought another laboratory to confirm his medical condition and discovered that the tests were incorrect. She later filed a lawsuit, seeking damages, saying the situation caused her “suffering,” “anguish” and “substantial moral damage deserving of compensation.”

According to the columnist, PCS Lab Farrula Analises Clínicas was condemned in 2018, 7 years after the process started, in the first instance. The case has been implemented in the 2nd Civil Court of Belfort Roxo since 2011. The company did not pay, and in 2021, the court decided that the shareholders should be held liable. Only in August 2023 did the agreement between the parties end the imbroglio.