Bahrain, May 26: Deteriorating health has delayed the departure for home of an HIV-infected Indian labourer here.

An illegal worker, Muthanna Poshanna, 46, had earlier this month managed to put together the documents and money required for his departure, but doctors have advised him against travel as he is "gravely ill", the Gulf Daily News reported.

Poshanna's case came to light earlier this year when he was admitted by friends to the Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) here with complications relating to tuberculosis. He was subsequently found to be HIV positive.

Poshanna, who claims to have come to Bahrain in 1991, said that his Bahraini sponsor had taken his passport away and left him to find work, the report said.

Embassy officials as well as members of the Surya Charitable and Cultural Association (SCCA) - which took up his case - have been unsuccessful in finding the sponsor.

Bahraini immigration authorities have said Poshanna's name was never recorded in their system, the report added.

After his case was highlighted in the media, donations began pouring in, with one anonymous Bahraini donor providing him with tickets to return home along with an escort.

Poshanna, a resident of Andhra Pradesh, received permission to leave after his family sent proof of his nationality and other documents needed to process his "out-pass", the Gulf Daily News report said.

The sudden deterioration of his health means that Poshanna will have to wait a while before he is reunited with his family, including three children who he has not met since 1991.