The World Health Organization called Monday for the worldwide use of
needle syringes that self-destruct after a single injection.
These
"smart" syringes are a response to a problem that medical authorities
have recognized for decades -- the frequent reuse of disposable shots.
An estimated 25 percent of the 18 billion medical injections performed
worldwide each year are done with dirty needles. Unsafe injections cause
as many as 1.7 million new hepatitis B infections annually, 315,000
hepatitis C infections and 33,800 HIV infections, according to the World
Health Organization. Stopping these infections would be a boon
for public health.
“This is a risk we don’t have to be taking,” the WHO's Lisa Hedman said.
Read more... Labels: single-use syringes, smart syringes, syringe reuse, Transmission and Prevention