Maputo — A fire swept through a molecular laboratory in the centre to care for children infected with HIV/AIDS in central Maputo on Friday night.

The laboratory is part of the DREAM (Drug Resource Enhancement against AIDS and Malnutrition) project, set up by the Italian NGO, the Sant'Egidio Community. DREAM is one of the main projects providing the life-prolonging anti-retroviral treatment to HIV-positive Mozambicans.

A statement from the Sant'Egidio Community expressed surprise at the fire, since the building was supposedly equipped with a sophisticated security system, which should, in principle, have prevented any shot circuits. An inquiry is now under way to determine the causes of the fire.

The laboratory had the capacity to carry out CD4 counts - to measure the number of CD4 cells (the part of the immune system attacked by the HIV virus) in a patient's bloodstream. It could also directly measure viral load, and undertake the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests, the most accurate form of diagnosing the presence of HIV in blood.

The laboratory diagnosed 3,000 viral loads, and carried out 1,300 CD4 and 300 PCR tests a month.

The equipment in the laboratory was ruined in the fire, but there were no casualties.