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Article: India struggles to quash dirty syringe industry
- Article from:
- Canadian Medical Association. Journal
- Article date:
- July 7, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Canadian Medical Association Jul 7, 2009. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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In Okhla slum, the medical quacks - unlicensed medical practitioners - know what to say when they're asked about syringes: use once, and only once; break immediately. They make a snapping motion with their hands to impress how they destroy a device. One proudly shows off a syringe cutter and a dispensing drawer full of snipped-off ends.
But in India, where vast swaths of the urban population live in slums and a third are illiterate, experts say the reuse of syringes is rampant - and deadly.
The World Health Organization estimates that 300 000 people die in India annually as a result of dirty syringes. Across the world, that figure is 1.3 million.
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