However, healthcare workers must have access to sterilization equipment and proper training since inadequate sterilization can result in the transmission of disease. Re-usable up to 50 times, these syringes must be sterilized in steam after each injection at a temperature of 121☌ for 20 minutes. The sterilizable syringe is a cheaper and more environmentally-friendly alternative to the hypodermic needle. With weak healthcare infrastructures, developing countries are understandably challenged in undertaking these efforts. An environmental official usually provides oversight to ensure that the syringes are never resold on illegal markets. To be disposed of properly, syringes must be placed in puncture-resistant, leak-proof boxes for burial in a protected pit, collection for off-site treatment, autoclaving, and/or incineration. While proper disposal can eliminate the possibility of needle reuse, the destruction of medical sharps in the developing world is a highly expensive and dangerous process. To be clear, poor vaccination protocols are not unique to Egypt, as can be seen in viral outbreaks in India, Pakistan, Tanzania, Sudan, Libya, Taiwan, Romania, and Moldova. Until the void in public awareness and education is addressed, governments will be unable to improve sterility standards, and such lapses in judgment will persist. A 2007 Egyptian government-commissioned study revealed an estimated infection rate of 10-15% in the population. Egypt now has the highest prevalence of the disease in the world. The treatments were delivered with needles that contained the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) with no cure, HCV is a leading cause of chronic liver disease.
#Streets of rogue syringes series
In the 1980s, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians received a series of 12-16 injections to treat a debilitating water-borne disease called schistosomiasis.
#Streets of rogue syringes full
The full effects of needle reuse are usually difficult to identify given the lack of patient surveillance and the long latent periods of target diseases.
Injection equipment is often scarce, medical personnel are neglectful or insufficiently aware of the risks, and disorganized waste management prevents proper needle disposal. Such socioeconomic conditions hinder safe use, and, for a variety of reasons, needles are often reused without being sterilized. Unfortunately, however, the very countries in which injections are most necessary suffer from weak healthcare infrastructures.
Given the impressive efficacy of vaccination, it comes as no surprise that injectable medication is in high demand in developing countries. While vaccinations save two million lives per year, the unclean syringe is responsible for 30% of Hepatitis B and C infections, and 1.3 million deaths worldwide per year. In low-income countries, however, where low sanitation is the norm, they have also been a major cause of death: The frequent unhygienic use of medical needles has led to the widespread transmission of infectious diseases. Responsible for the eradication of smallpox, the virtual elimination of polio, and the dramatic drop in measles mortality rates, vaccines have made a remarkable contribution to global public health. Responsible for almost 1.3 million deaths worldwide per year, unclean medical syringes have confounded global efforts to fight infectious diseases.Īs a practical alternative to invasive syringes, needle-free injectors can arrest the growing death toll and reduce significant medical waste.
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