HIV-infected, recycled syringes sting Kolkata

Kolkata: 2nd August 2011

It is wobbly with a crooked needle and a depressed piston. The tip looks blunt, the cap is loose and the tube has a pale exterior. ‘For single use only’, says the instruction printed on the syringe but it looks far from a fresh one, safe enough for use. And it is not the only one which doctors at SSKM Hospital in Kolkata suspect to have been recycled from clinical wastes that are routinely dumped in the hospital backyard. Hundreds of syringes, saline bottles, blood bags, slides and other medical equipment —all recycled — are believed to have infiltrated SSKM through a network that has been active for some years. The result could be disastrous and might have started taking effect already, fear doctors.

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