Doctor who exposed HIV cases in China dies

Dr. Shuping Wang, a whistleblower who exposed HIV and hepatitis epidemics in central China in the 1990s, potentially saving tens of thousands of lives, has died aged 59.

BBc reports that Dr Shuping Wang was a medical doctor who worked at a Plasma collection station in China, where she uncovered alarming rate of HIV cases.

In 1995, she observed the rate of poor collection practices, including cross-contamination in blood-drawing, meant many donors were being infected with HIV and hepatitis C from other donors.

She discovered a donor who had tested HIV positive but had still sold blood in four different areas.

She decided to take things into her own hands, buying test kits and randomly collecting over 400 samples from donors and later discovered that the HIV positive rate to be 13%.

Because of her immediate action, all the blood and plasma collection sites across the country were shut down for “rectification” and when they re-opened, HIV testing was added in 1996.

Prior to her HIV discovery, she also found out cases of hepatitis in Chinese province of Henan in 1991.

At the time, many locals sold their blood to local government-run blood banks, warning her senior colleagues at the station to change practices, but was ignored according to her own account.

Undeterred, she reported the issue to the Ministry of Health and as a result, the ministry later announced that all donors would need to undergo hepatitis C screening in order to reduce the risk of the disease being spread.

Dr Wang lost her job and marriage as a result of her whistleblowing, which according to her colleagues, have “impeded the business”.  

In 2001, Dr Wang moved to the US where she worked at the University of Utah as a medical researcher.

Dr Wang died on 21 September while hiking in Salt Lake City with friends and her husband.

A play inspired by her life is currently running in London, with the playwright calling her a “public health hero”.