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Needle-sharing pupils may be safe

    JOHANNESBURG

    Botswana's National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA) on Wednesday said most of the school children recently immunised with the same needle had tested negative for HIV.

    A nurse threw the country's health care system into panic in February by using the same syringe to immunise 170 children against childhood diseases.

    "None of the children tested were found to be HIV-positive. We are hopeful that a second test will put the children in the clear," NACA national coordinator, Dr Banu Khan, told the UN news service PlusNews.

    However, Banu pointed out that four of the 170 children still had to be tested, pending consent from the parents.

    "This incident calls for a review of global precautions on HIV transmission through healthcare," Banu added.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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