Children at Risk for Disease After Medical Mistake

The news that an employee at the Med Peds Clinic in Fort Collins reused influenza vaccine syringes between patients has prompted a recommendation that those children be tested for blood-borne diseases including HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

In an April 6 letter to parents, the clinic said a medical assistant had used only half the premeasured children's vaccine, believing it to be an adult dose. Although the assistant removed the used needle and replaced it with a sterile one, the syringes were placed in a box marked "second doses." These were then used on children returning for the required second influenza dose, which is administered within one month of the first.

The medical assistant's employment has since been terminated.

Although the clinic and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment are urging parents to be "on the safe side" by having their children tested, department spokesperson Wendy Bamberg listed several reasons why the risk of infection is low: Only the syringes - not the needles - were shared; the vaccines are injected into muscle, not the bloodstream; and the young children involved would be unlikely to be infected with blood-borne diseases.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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