DISCARDED NEEDLES - DISEASE RISK IS LOW

Stats Reassuring. Accidental Prickings Rarely Lead To Infection

The case of the 7-year-old Laval girl who pricked herself Tuesday
with a syringe found in a hedge left many people gasping in horror.

The reassuring news is the chance of contracting HIV or hepatitis B
or C from such incidents is extremely rare.

There are no documented cases of anyone contracting HIV or hepatitis
B after being pricked with needles left in parks or in alleys, said
Carole Morissette of the Montreal Public Health Department. The
literature is less clear in the case of hepatitis C, though it
appears that there, too, the risk is remote, she said.

But the figures may be low because people are often treated with
prophylactic medication after exposure, she cautioned.

"The risk (of contracting a disease) is very low, but you still have
to take it seriously each time. You can't say the risk is zero," she
said. Anyone who is pricked accidentally should go to a hospital
straight away, she said.

A vaccination does exist for hepatitis B - since the mid-1990s it's
been given to children in Grade 4 through school immunization
programs, she said.

There's another hepatitis B antibody treatment that can be
administered after contact with the virus, she said. To prevent HIV,
doctors prescribe several weeks of an anti-retroviral treatment.

No vaccination exists for hepatitis C. However, unlike with hepatitis
B, for which there is no cure, there is a treatment for people who
have contracted the disease which is up to 80 per cent effective, she said.

Marie-Jane Daigle pricked herself while playing with a syringe she
found on her way to her school bus stop. The area where she lives is
known to have crack houses and prostitutes. She is being treated
against hepatitis B and HIV.

Each year about 25 children are treated at the Montreal Children's
and Ste. Justine hospitals for accidental prickings, according to
Health Department statistics.

Morissette said the risk of contracting HIV or hepatitis from being
accidentally pricked with a needle is greatest for health-care
workers - there were 369 such reported prickings in 2003. For one
thing, the blood is fresh.

Needles that have been lying around are less likely to still contain
an active virus.

Quebecers can get containers for disposing of used needles through
CLSCs and pharmacies. You don't have to explain why you need it, and
they are free.