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An instructor at the University of
Prince Edward Island (UPEI) has warned that students of a biology lab class may
have been exposed to blood-borne viruses, including HIV and hepatitis B and C,
after learning of a similar case at Southeast Collegiate in Winnipeg.
In the Winnipeg case, about 70
aboriginal high-schoolers were tested for diabetes via a one-use blood-sampling
device. The UPEI instructor notified officials the biology lab class had been
doing the same thing for the past three years. An estimated 300 students at
UPEI may be involved.
“We became aware of this issue
because of a story that broke in Manitoba. One of the staff said, ‘We may have
an issue here, we’d better check,’” Christian Lacroix, dean of science at UPEI,
said Wednesday.
A total of 295 students and eight
student assistants/instructors of the lab have been identified by the school,
and approximately half the pupils are believed to have participated in
blood-glucose testing. “They were being taught how to take glucose levels -
test for sugar levels, and the device that was used in that class was intended
for a single user,” said a UPEI spokesperson. Rather than changing the device
out for each student, only the needle was changed.
Dr. Heather Morrison, the province’s
chief public health officer, said the risk of blood-borne transmission is very
low, but the university should “err on the side of caution.” Her department
sent out an advisory on the appropriate use of blood lancing devices after the
Winnipeg case, she noted.
The affected students have been sent
special-delivery letters that include a toll-free telephone number
(877-628-8833). Most of the students are still enrolled at UPEI.
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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