Nearly 900 children in the Pakistani city of Ratodero tested positive for HIV this year and suffered from fevers that resulted in their death.
900 children test HIV+ in a small city in Pakistan, without any fault of theirs, all coz one doctor reused his syringes! My heart goes out to their parents. It must be such a devastating shock. This is the #NewPakistan @ImranKhanPTI is ushering in? And these guys want Kashmir?
— Shefali Vaidya ஷெஃபாலி வைத்யா शेफाली वैद्य (@ShefVaidya) October 26, 2019
The children were diagnosed with H.I.V. after a local pediatrician allegedly used tainted syringes that spread the virus. Pakistani health officials broke the news in April, and since then more than 1,100 people, including 900 patients under 12 years old, tested positive for the virus. The number is expected to rise.
Heartbreaking. No child should have to suffer like this. My prayers are with the families.https://t.co/A55YF88hKb
— Major Gaurav Arya (Retd) (@majorgauravarya) October 26, 2019
The officials traced the disaster to one pediatrician, Muzaffar Ghangro, who was the most affordable in town, charging only 20 cents for a visit. Several parents reported to officials that he rummaged through garbage to find syringes to use on their children.
900 children. 900. I cried when I read this story, it is devastating. https://t.co/NzUMojQZxD
— Kamil Ahsan #Bernie2020 (@kamuleosaurus) October 26, 2019
Ghanghro has been arrested and charged with negligence, manslaughter, and causing unintentional harm. He has yet to be convicted and has maintained his innocence, saying he never reused syringes.
????? A doctor should know better that reusing syringes will spread diseases, even if it fixes what a child is given an injection for. Why are syringes, a cheap plastic medical aid, so expensive that it is paid for with the lives of children? https://t.co/FX8qqxoKtn
— ᴇʀɢᴏᴘʜɪʟᴇ (@RstyClinomaniac) October 27, 2019
Health officials say that Ghanghro is not likely to be the sole cause of the outbreak. They say that health inspectors saw many other doctors reuse syringes, barbers use the same razors to shave customers, and roadside dentists use unsterilized tools.
