"Mohammed Amin was eight when he died shortly after testing positive for HIV. His fevers were so bad that he insisted on sleeping in the rain, and he writhed in pain 'like he'd been thrown in hot oil', says his mother, Sughra."
"After a doctor at a private clinic linked the outbreak to the hospital, local authorities promised a 'massive crackdown' and suspended the hospital's medical superintendent in March 2025, but dangerous injection practices continued months later."
"During 32 hours of undercover filming at THQ Taunsa in late 2025, we witnessed syringes being reused on multi-dose vials of medicine on 10 separate occasions, potentially contaminating the drugs inside."
"'Even if they have attached a new needle, the back part, which we call the syringe body, has the virus in it, so it will transfer even with a new needle,' said Dr Altaf Ahmed, a consultant microbiologist."
Mohammed Amin, aged eight, died after testing positive for HIV, alongside his sister Asma, who was also diagnosed. Their family believes they contracted the virus from contaminated needles during treatment at a government hospital in Taunsa, Pakistan. A total of 331 children tested positive for HIV in the city between November 2024 and October 2025. Despite a promised crackdown on unsafe practices, an investigation revealed continued reuse of syringes on multi-dose vials, posing a risk of viral transmission, as confirmed by a leading infectious disease expert.
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]