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Doctor charged for reusing dirty needles

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Doctor charged for reusing dirty needles
Photo: DPA

Some 1,800 people in the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg have reportedly been told to be tested for HIV after police discovered their doctor had been reusing needles in her practice.

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The ears, nose and throat specialist, identified by daily Bild as Dr. Uta S., stands accused of grievous bodily harm for not following proper hygiene regulations. Her patients received a letter from regional authorities urging them to undergo tests for hepatitis and HIV – the virus that causes AIDS.

“The doctor’s assistant at the practice called the health office and accused the doctor of reusing needles on several occasions,” Manuel Zipperer from the Sigmaringen county office told the paper.

Following several months of investigation, police determined hundreds of unhygienic incidents at the doctor’s practice in Bad Saulgau.

Besides reusing needles, Uta S. allegedly mixed patient blood and urine – for them to drink – in a bottle that was then used for other people for the same purpose without being cleaned.

“We believe the doctor treated patients in 682 cases with their own blood without their permission under unsterile conditions,” prosecutor Karl-Josef Diehl said. “Our aim is to forbid her from practising,”

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