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Recycling of Injection Equipment in Pakistan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Syed Abdul Mujeeb ,
Malik Mohummad Adil ,
Arshad Altaf ,
Yvan Hutin  and
Stephen Luby
Syed Abdul Mujeeb
Affiliation:
Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Center, Karachi, Pakistan
Malik Mohummad Adil
Affiliation:
Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Center, Karachi, Pakistan
Arshad Altaf
Affiliation:
Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
Yvan Hutin
Affiliation:
World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Stephen Luby*
Affiliation:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
*
Foodborne and Diarrheal Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Mailstop A-38, Atlanta, GA 30333
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Extract

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is high in the general population in Pakistan, ranging from 2% to 6%. Reuse of injection equipment in the absence of sterilization is common, particularly in healthcare facilities that serve low-income populations. Studies have identified unsafe injection practices as a major route of transmission of HCV in Pakistan. Changing the behavior of injection providers so that they would use new freshly opened disposable syringes would improve injection safety in Pakistan. However, frequent reports of recycling of injection equipment in the local media question the safety of apparently new syringes. Clinical laboratories are one of the major sources of production of used syringes. To evaluate the resale of used syringes, we followed the course of used syringes from their initial use to their final destination.

Type
Readers Forum
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , February 2003 , pp. 145 - 146
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2003

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References

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