RE: CDC press release on "Safety Bulletin"

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From:"Gary W. Gill" <garywgill@email.msn.com> (by way of histonet)
To:histonet <histonet@magicnet.net>
Reply-To:
Date:Fri, 16 Apr 1999 00:50:32 -0400
Content-Type:text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The same hoax is circulating simultaneously on the Cytopathnet and ASC
Listservers.  What synchronization!  A left wing conspiracy?  Don't these
people ever sleep?

Air-drying kills HIV.  We of all people should know better than to be sucked
in to these black holes of nonsense.  Can you imagine how many hours have
been wasted collectively on this nonsense?

Gary Gill

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tim Morken [mailto:timcdc@hotmail.com]
> Sent: April 15, 1999 7:52 PM
> To: histonet@Pathology.swmed.edu
> Subject: RE: CDC press release on "Safety Bulletin"
>
>
> The CDC put out a press release concerning the "needle" hoaxes on
> March 24 1999.
>
>
> http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/hiv_aids/pubs/faq/faq5a.htm
>
>
> I have read on the Internet several stories about people getting stuck
> by needles in phone
>                          booth coin returns, movie theater seats, and
> other places. One story said that CDC reported
>                          similar incidents about improperly discarded
> needles and syringes.
>
>                                                         Are these
> stories true?
>
>                          CDC has received inquiries about a variety of
> reports or warnings about used needles left by
>                          HIV-infected injection drug users in coin
> return slots of pay phones and movie theater seats. These
>                          reports and warnings are being circulated on
> the Internet and by e-mail and fax. Some reports have
>                          falsely indicated that CDC "confirmed" the
> presence of HIV in the needles. CDC has not tested such
>                          needles nor has CDC confirmed the presence or
> absence of HIV in any sample related to these
>                          rumors. The majority of these reports and
> warnings appear to have no foundation in fact.
>
>                          CDC recently was informed of one incident in
> Virginia of a needle stick from a small-gauge needle
>                          (believed to be an insulin needle) in a coin
> return slot of a pay phone. The incident was investigated
>                          by the local police department. Several days
> later, after a report of this police action appeared in the
>                          local newspaper, a needle was found in a
> vending machine but did not cause a needle-stick injury.
>
>                          Discarded needles are sometimes found in the
> community outside of health care settings. These
>                          needles are believed to have been discarded
> by persons who use insulin or are injection drug users.
>                          Occasionally the "public" and certain groups
> of workers (e.g., sanitation workers or housekeeping
>                          staff) may sustain needle-stick injuries
> involving inappropriately discarded needles. Needle-stick
>                          injuries can transfer blood and blood-borne
> pathogens (e.g., hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV), but
>                          the risk of transmission from discarded
> needles is extremely low.
>
>                          CDC does not recommend testing discarded
> needles to assess the presence or absence of infectious
>                          agents in the needles. Management of exposed
> persons should be done on a case-by-case evaluation of
>                          (1) the risk of a blood-borne pathogen
> infection in the source and (2) the nature of the injury.
>                          Anyone who is injured from a needle stick in
> a community setting should contact their physician or
>                          go to an emergency room as soon as possible.
> The injury should be reported to the local or state
>                          health departments. CDC is not aware of any
> cases where HIV has been transmitted by a needle-stick
>                          injury outside a health care setting.
>
>
> _______________________________________________________________
> Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
>




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