Researchers have suggested hundreds of thousands of
children may have contracted the virus in this way.
The study is the latest to point to contaminated needles as
a major cause of HIV in Africa.
Some researchers believe as many as 40% of HIV infections
in African adults are linked to injections.
United Nations agencies have rejected this theory, saying
most cases are linked to unsafe sex.
Officials have also warned that the theory could damage
campaigns to get people in Africa to use condoms to protect
themselves from the disease.
This latest research looked at a study carried out by the
Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa, published
last year.
It revealed that 5.6% of South African children between the
ages of two and 14 have HIV. This represents 670,000 children.
However, figures for mother-to-baby transmission - believed
to be the main cause of HIV in children - are substantially
lower.
This suggests children are contracting the virus in another
way.
Researchers from the University of Tübingen in Germany
said the findings indicated contaminated needles were to
blame.
They rejected claims that children could have contracted
HIV through unsafe sex or as a result of abuse." from Dirty
Needles Blamed for HIV
|
AIDS Transmission Through Blood Supply is Discussed at
Internews Nigeria Roundtable |
“HIV/AIDS is not a sinners’ affliction,” declared
Evangelist Peter Ikiti to journalists attending an
educational roundtable organized by Internews’ Local
Voices Project in Abuja about the safety of Nigeria’s
blood supply. |
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Anti-AIDS Effort in Central China Focuses on Former
Plasma Donors |
The
epidemic in Central China took root between the late
1980s and the late-1990s when entrepreneurs paid poor
farmers in Henan province for plasma — the liquid
portion of blood that provides critical proteins for
blood clotting and immunity. The farmers, who were not
tested for HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or other
blood-borne infections, gave blood to collection
centers, which pooled the blood of several donors of the
same blood type, separated the plasma, and injected the
remaining red-blood cells back into individual donors to
prevent anemia. |
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Benghazi
epidemic
|
According to Beshkov, research done by Perrin and
Montaigner corroborates the theory that the HIV epidemic
in Benghazi was the result of an in-hospital infection.
The experts would like to see more research being done
to determine the causes for the epidemic and to take
measures to prevent such cases in the future.
|
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Cardiac surgeon likely source of hepatitis in patients |
A
cluster of seven cases has been diagnosed in people who
have only the physician in common. |
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Countries struggle with hepatitis C contamination. |
Examines
how France, Germany, Australia, the United States and
Great Britain are tackling hepatitis C contamination
through blood and blood products. Screening of blood
donations; Recipients of
blood transfusions; Questions on legal responsibility;
Compensation for patients; Intravenous drug use. |
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Dirty
Needles Blamed for HIV
|
Children
in South Africa are being infected with HIV through
dirty needles, experts have claimed.
|
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Doctor fails to change syringes between patients |
Claude Light, MD, who also doubled as the town's public
health director, resigned from his directorship after it
was alleged that he did not change syringes when
immunizing about 468 residents against the influenza
virus at a local high school. An assisting nurse who
said she witnessed the doctor administering the doses
without changing the syringe reported him to the state
health department. |
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Eighth hospital discloses
instruments not disinfected |
The
number of Ontario hospitals hit with infection-control
woes is up to eight after York Central Hospital revealed
yesterday an instrument used in nose and throat exams
hadn't been completely sterilized |
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Gastroenterology-Urology
Devices; Classification of the Ingestible Telemetric
Gastrointestinal Capsule Imaging System
|
FDA
has identified the following risks to health associated
specifically with this type of device: (1)
Biocompatibility; (2) electrical and mechanical safety;
(3) radio-frequency radiated power and electromagnetic
compatibility, including interference with other medical
devices and with this device (e.g., interference with
image acquisition); (4) functional reliability,
including structural integrity and image acquisition;
(5) intestinal obstruction or injury; and (6)
misinterpretation of the captured images.
|
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HIV
Fears Prompt Recall of Product for Burn Victims
|
Baxter International Inc. on Monday said it has recalled one lot of a
product that hospitals use to treat burn victims and
patients in shock after a test found a rare form of HIV
in the plasma used to make the product.
|
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Hospitals Save Money, But
Safety Is Questioned |
A
growing number of U.S. hospitals, including at least
eight in the Washington area, are saving money by
reusing medical devices designated for one-time use,
ignoring the warnings of manufacturers, which will not
vouch for the safety of their reconditioned
products…Hospitals are not required to tell patients
that reconditioned devices will be used in surgery --
surgeons themselves often do not know. The Food and Drug
Administration regulates the practice, and many hospital
administrators say reusing single-use devices is not
only cost effective but also poses no threat to patients
because the instruments are cleaned with such care that
they are as good as new. |
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iatrogenci-medical
transmission of an infectious disease |
To
investigate and compare seven types of injection devices
for their risks of iatrogenic transmission of bloodborne
pathogens and their economic costs in sub-Saharan Africa |
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KARACHI:
Experts warn against reuse of syringe needles
|
Experts
have emphasized the need for safe disposal of disposable
syringes as otherwise people may be exposed to dangerous
diseases such as Hepatitis C and Aids. Three hundred
million syringes are used every year in the country.
|
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Martin studies tainted blood lawsuit |
THE
government is considering hiring an American law firm to
take a multi-million-dollar case against US-based drug
companies implicated in infecting Irish haemophiliacs
with HIV and hepatitis C. |
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Medical Procedures and Hepatitis C Virus Transmission |
Transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C
virus (Hepatitis C Virus) can occur in health-care settings from
percutaneous or mucosal exposures to blood or other body
fluids from an infected patient or health-care worker |
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Needle
Use Soars In Young Heroin Users
|
The
number of young heroin addicts in New Jersey who said
they injected the drug spiked sharply in the last
decade, state health officials say. And they suspect the
problem isn't unique to the Garden State.
|
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New
York City Department of Health investigating endoscopy
clinic after hepatitis C outbreak
|
In
June, the New York City Department of Health announced
an investigation of a Brooklyn endoscopy clinic after
eight people who underwent endoscopic procedures at the
clinic were later diagnosed with hepatitis C.
|
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Nosocomial
Hepatitis B Virus Infection Associated with Reusable
Fingerstick Blood Sampling Devices -- Ohio and New York
City, 1996
|
Fingerstick
devices are widely used for capillary-blood sampling for
glucose monitoring in patients with diabetes. In 1996,
outbreaks of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection occurred
among patients with diabetes in an Ohio nursing home and
in a New York City hospital.
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