Unsafe injections transmit infections

People in developing countries receive too many injections, often with unsterilised needles and syringes that can transmit illnesses such as hepatitis and HIV.According to researchers at the Department of Blood Safety and Clinical Technology, World Health Organisation (WHO), in Geneva, one third of injections given in developing countries were dangerous. In most developing countries, injections are considerably overused to give medication and most of these injections are unsafe and become a major vector of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. Re-use of needles was most common in South Asia, the Middle East and the Western Pacific.People in developing countries are receiving too many injections for illnesses that could be treated with oral medication or no drugs at all. Needles are often reused and not sterilised properly. They called for changes in medical practices and better safety measures to reduce the use of dirty needles that can transmit infections. There should be enough syringes and needles made available in each clinic in the world. Dirty syringes and needles that have been used to give injections should be destroyed so they cannot be used again.

The WHO estimates that about 16 billion injections are given in developing and transitional countries each year and as many as 70 percent are unnecessary. Nearly two percent of all new HIV cases, or 96,000 people, are infected through unsafe injections. Dirty needles are also the most common cause of infection of hepatitis C, a potentially deadly liver disease, and account for 33 percent of new hepatitis B cases, another serious illness. Overuse of injections and unsafe practices are still common in developing and transitional countries. An urgent need exists to use injections safely and appropriately, to prevent healthcare associated infections with HIV and other bloodborne pathogens.

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