SIMPLY ensuring that doctors and nurses follow the basic rule of sterilising needles or discarding them after use could protect millions of people from diseases. A World Health Organization study has revealed that 40 per cent of injections in 2000 were given with unsterilised needles. Such practices spread numerous blood-borne infections, including hepatitis B and C, HIV, malaria, septicaemia and viral haemorrhagic fevers.
The biggest surprise, however, is just who is in most danger (see Graphic). While 20 per cent of injections in sub-Saharan Africa were unsafe, the figure in parts of south-east Asia was 75 per cent (British…
