The World Health Organization has called on healthcare providers around the globe to switch to syringes that can only be used once in order to better battle deadly diseases spread by needle sharing.
In new guidelines released Monday the UN health agency "detailed recommendations highlighting the value of safety features for syringes, including devices that protect health workers against accidental... injury."
Dangerous injection practices led to the accidental infection worldwide of 1.7 million people with hepatitis B, 315,000 with hepatitis C and as many as 33,800 with HIV in 2010, according to a 2014 WHO-sponsored study.
The new "smart" syringes recommended by the WHO include features that prevent them from being used a second time. Some have a plunger that breaks if someone tries to pull it back out following an injection.
Others have metal clips that prevent the plunger from being pulled back after it is used and another type has a needle that retracts into the syringe after a shot.
"Adoption of safety-engineered syringes is absolutely critical to protecting people worldwide from becoming infected with HIV, hepatitis and other diseases," said Gottfried Hirnschall, head of WHO's HIV/AIDS Department.
"This should be an urgent priority for all countries," he added.
However, these types of needles cost at least twice the three to four US cents the regular ones cost when ordered through a UN agency.
Costlier syringes
Accidental infections are a global phenomenon. A 2007 hepatitis C outbreak in the American state of Nevada was traced back to a doctor re-using a syringe.
In Cambodia nearly 200 people living near Battambang tested positive in December 2014 for HIV and are believed to have been infected by dangerous injection practices.
Cutting down on the number of injections would also help reduce disease, WHO said. Of the 16 billion injections each year only 10 percent are for immunisations, injected birth control and procedures like blood transfusions.
The remaining 90 percent are used to administer medicine and in many cases the WHO says these injections are unnecessary. It appears excess injections are due to patients' beliefs that injections are the best form of treatment, but there also seems to be an economic reason.
"For many health workers in developing countries, giving injections in private practice supplements salaries that may be inadequate to support their families," said Edward Kelley, a director at WHO.
While re-use of needles remains a major problem, there are signs that previous calls to stop the practice have had some impact. From 2000-2010 needle sharing dropped by a factor of seven in developing countries and the number of injections per person fell from 3.4 to 2.9, WHO said.
Explore further: Contaminated equipment behind Cambodia village HIV outbreak: WHO
© 2015 AFP
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The World Health Organization has called on healthcare providers around the globe to switch to syringes that can only be used once in order to better battle deadly diseases spread by needle sharing.
In new guidelines released Monday the UN health agency "detailed recommendations highlighting the value of safety features for syringes, including devices that protect health workers against accidental... injury."
Dangerous injection practices led to the accidental infection worldwide of 1.7 million people with hepatitis B, 315,000 with hepatitis C and as many as 33,800 with HIV in 2010, according to a 2014 WHO-sponsored study.
The new "smart" syringes recommended by the WHO include features that prevent them from being used a second time. Some have a plunger that breaks if someone tries to pull it back out following an injection.
Others have metal clips that prevent the plunger from being pulled back after it is used and another type has a needle that retracts into the syringe after a shot.
"Adoption of safety-engineered syringes is absolutely critical to protecting people worldwide from becoming infected with HIV, hepatitis and other diseases," said Gottfried Hirnschall, head of WHO's HIV/AIDS Department.
"This should be an urgent priority for all countries," he added.
However, these types of needles cost at least twice the three to four US cents the regular ones cost when ordered through a UN agency.
Costlier syringes
Accidental infections are a global phenomenon. A 2007 hepatitis C outbreak in the American state of Nevada was traced back to a doctor re-using a syringe.
In Cambodia nearly 200 people living near Battambang tested positive in December 2014 for HIV and are believed to have been infected by dangerous injection practices.
Cutting down on the number of injections would also help reduce disease, WHO said. Of the 16 billion injections each year only 10 percent are for immunisations, injected birth control and procedures like blood transfusions.
The remaining 90 percent are used to administer medicine and in many cases the WHO says these injections are unnecessary. It appears excess injections are due to patients' beliefs that injections are the best form of treatment, but there also seems to be an economic reason.
"For many health workers in developing countries, giving injections in private practice supplements salaries that may be inadequate to support their families," said Edward Kelley, a director at WHO.
While re-use of needles remains a major problem, there are signs that previous calls to stop the practice have had some impact. From 2000-2010 needle sharing dropped by a factor of seven in developing countries and the number of injections per person fell from 3.4 to 2.9, WHO said.
Explore further: Contaminated equipment behind Cambodia village HIV outbreak: WHO
© 2015 AFP
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Contaminated equipment behind Cambodia village HIV outbreak: WHO
Jan 10, 2015
A mass HIV outbreak in a Cambodian village was most likely caused by contaminated medical equipment, the World Health Organization and Cambodian health ministry said Saturday.
Cambodia village reports mass HIV/AIDS infection
Dec 16, 2014
Cambodian health authorities on Tuesday said more than 80 people—including children and the elderly—who tested positive for HIV/AIDS in a single remote village may have been infected by contaminated needles.
US okays Roche test to identify HIV, hepatitis viruses
Jan 09, 2015
US authorities have approved a test developed by Swiss pharmaceutical firm Roche that can detect both HIV and hepatitis viruses, the company said Friday.
Experts call for stepped-up hepatitis battle
Jul 24, 2014
The world can beat the cancer-causing disease hepatitis if it raises its game, but treatment programmes need to go hand in hand with those tackling the likes of HIV, experts said Thursday.
Certain Syringes More Likely To Spread Hepatitis C Virus Among Drug Users
Feb 15, 2010
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