Gumleaf
September 7th, 2010, 11:38 PM
13:31 AEST Wed Sep 8 2010
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/7958155/students-share-needle-in-class
A group of 18 Tasmanian teenage school students were put at risk of contracting various diseases including HIV when they shared a needle during a science class last month.
Multiple blood samples were taken by finger-pricking with a needle in a class on August 9.
Whenever blood is drawn, a freshly sterilised instrument should be used for each individual, but that did not happen in this case, the Tasmanian director of public health, Dr Roscoe Taylor said.
He has written to the parents of the 18 students aged between 13 and 16 at the southern Tasmanian school, urging them to take advantage of free precautionary tests for blood-borne viruses.
Another test will be required in six months.
"While the risks are probably extremely low, the possibility of transmission of a blood-borne virus such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C or HIV cannot be ruled out, if any one of those whose blood was drawn was carrying an infection," Dr Taylor said in a statement.
"Public Health was not notified of the situation until last week, so we haven't been able to give public health advice as promptly as we would have liked.
"However we understand that the principal did contact parents within days as soon as he was made aware of the situation."
© AAP 2010
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/7958155/students-share-needle-in-class
A group of 18 Tasmanian teenage school students were put at risk of contracting various diseases including HIV when they shared a needle during a science class last month.
Multiple blood samples were taken by finger-pricking with a needle in a class on August 9.
Whenever blood is drawn, a freshly sterilised instrument should be used for each individual, but that did not happen in this case, the Tasmanian director of public health, Dr Roscoe Taylor said.
He has written to the parents of the 18 students aged between 13 and 16 at the southern Tasmanian school, urging them to take advantage of free precautionary tests for blood-borne viruses.
Another test will be required in six months.
"While the risks are probably extremely low, the possibility of transmission of a blood-borne virus such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C or HIV cannot be ruled out, if any one of those whose blood was drawn was carrying an infection," Dr Taylor said in a statement.
"Public Health was not notified of the situation until last week, so we haven't been able to give public health advice as promptly as we would have liked.
"However we understand that the principal did contact parents within days as soon as he was made aware of the situation."
© AAP 2010