A Point Well Taken; One-Use Plastic Needles Would Limit Spread of Disease

[Guest guest]

CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update

Thursday, September 23, 2004

“A Point Well Taken; One-Use Plastic Needles Would Limit Spread of Disease”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution (09.22.04):: Wahlberg

The hypodermic needle has delivered medicines to millions worldwide,

but it

also plays a role in spreading diseases. The World Health Organization

estimates

that the 16 billion injections administered annually in developing countries

cause 21 million cases of hepatitis B, 2 million cases of hepatitis C and

260,000 cases of HIV.

“It is perhaps the single largest man-made medical disaster of the 20th

century,” said CDC's Dr. Chen. Now, Chen and Georgia Tech mechanical

engineer Colton are working to develop plastic needles to replace

stainless steel ones. They say a plastic needle could be made impossible to

reuse simply by passing it over a lit candle. “It's easier to disable a

plastic

needle than a steel needle, and it's easier to recycle the material,” Colton

said.

While disposable plastic syringes have solved most injection

contamination

issues in developed nations, their reuse has become the cheapest way to

ensure

adequate supplies in poor countries. After the development of auto-disable

syringes — which render themselves useless after a single injection — the

World

Health Organization, UNICEF and other groups began demanding them for

immunization efforts.

But in developing nations, more than 90 percent of injections are for

treatment, not vaccination, and up to half of these are unnecessary. In many

places, patients believe that only injections provide “real” medicine — and

doctors are often paid more for dispensing a shot than a pill. Many of these

used needles are discarded haphazardly by poorly funded clinics.

Chen works for CDC's National Immunization Program. In 1999, while on

sabbatical at WHO in Geneva, he helped found the Safe Injection Global

Network.

Upon returning to Atlanta, he partnered with Colton to work on plastic

needles,

which could prevent unsafe reuse and reduce the dangers of improper

disposal. In

2003, the two researchers received a $60,000 CDC-Georgia Tech “seed” grant

to

develop their idea. Now they are using their public health and engineering

skills to solve this global health problem.

[Guest guest]

CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update

Thursday, September 23, 2004

“A Point Well Taken; One-Use Plastic Needles Would Limit Spread of Disease”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution (09.22.04):: Wahlberg

The hypodermic needle has delivered medicines to millions worldwide,

but it

also plays a role in spreading diseases. The World Health Organization

estimates

that the 16 billion injections administered annually in developing countries

cause 21 million cases of hepatitis B, 2 million cases of hepatitis C and

260,000 cases of HIV.

“It is perhaps the single largest man-made medical disaster of the 20th

century,” said CDC's Dr. Chen. Now, Chen and Georgia Tech mechanical

engineer Colton are working to develop plastic needles to replace

stainless steel ones. They say a plastic needle could be made impossible to

reuse simply by passing it over a lit candle. “It's easier to disable a

plastic

needle than a steel needle, and it's easier to recycle the material,” Colton

said.

While disposable plastic syringes have solved most injection

contamination

issues in developed nations, their reuse has become the cheapest way to

ensure

adequate supplies in poor countries. After the development of auto-disable

syringes — which render themselves useless after a single injection — the

World

Health Organization, UNICEF and other groups began demanding them for

immunization efforts.

But in developing nations, more than 90 percent of injections are for

treatment, not vaccination, and up to half of these are unnecessary. In many

places, patients believe that only injections provide “real” medicine — and

doctors are often paid more for dispensing a shot than a pill. Many of these

used needles are discarded haphazardly by poorly funded clinics.

Chen works for CDC's National Immunization Program. In 1999, while on

sabbatical at WHO in Geneva, he helped found the Safe Injection Global

Network.

Upon returning to Atlanta, he partnered with Colton to work on plastic

needles,

which could prevent unsafe reuse and reduce the dangers of improper

disposal. In

2003, the two researchers received a $60,000 CDC-Georgia Tech “seed” grant

to

develop their idea. Now they are using their public health and engineering

skills to solve this global health problem.