WHO wants a change to smart syringes

By Caribbean Medical News Staff
Over two million people are infected each year by the reuse of syringes. These infections ranging from HIV to hepatitis are a major risk to the several millions who are injected annually.
This is according to the WHO which is suggesting that doctors now shift to the smart syringe to avoid further devastating infections.
According to WHO, regular syringes can be used more than once but this does entirely reduce or eliminate infection. In fact, there are several infections that are caused by reuse of syringes.
And the WHO says that the new Smart syringes will break after one use and ought to be incorporated for injections for 2020.
Two million infections
The WHO report also suggested that the reuse of syringes leads to over two million infections annually.
“This will hopefully help eliminate the 1.7 million new hepatitis B cases, the 300,000 hepatitis C cases and the 35,000 HIV cases every year, and all those we don’t have figures for, such as Ebola and Marburg,” said Dr Selma Khamassi, head of the WHO team for injection safety, in a BBC report.
While the new Smart Syringe is much more expensive, the WHO says that it will make the 16 billion injections administered annually much safer for use and the syringes are built with a mechanism that prevents the plunger from being retracted. It thus cannot be used again.
Among the two million infected, include infections with HIV and Hepatitis each year.
WHO says the switch would be much cheaper than treating the diseases.