Dear Doctor Column, May 10, 2004

CDC Reports on Needle-stick Hoax

Question:

I have read stories on the Internet about people getting stuck by needles in phone booth coin returns, movie theater seats, gas pump handles, and other places. Are these stories true?

Answer:

No, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site (www.cdc.gov. Updated January 30, 2004). The 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, the underside of gas pump handles, and on movie theater seats. HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). These reports and warnings, which have no foundation in fact, according to the CDC, have been circulated on the Internet and by e-mail and fax.

Some reports have falsely indicated that the CDC had "confirmed" the presence of HIV in the needles. According to a CDC statement, no such needles have been tested nor has the CDC confirmed the presence or absence of HIV in any related to these rumors.

The CDC 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, and 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 and are believed to be discarded by individuals who use insulin or are injection drug users. Occasionally, certain groups of workers, such as sanitation workers or housekeeping staff, may sustain needle-stick injuries involving inappropriately discarded needles. Although needle-stick injuries can transfer blood and blood-borne pathogens, such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV, the risk of transmission from discarded needles is low.

Medical management of exposed individuals to a needle-stick injury should be determined on a case-by-case evaluation of the risk of a blood-borne pathogen infection in the source and 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 for evaluation. The health-care professional should then report the injury to the local or state health department. The CDC is not aware of any cases where HIV has been transmitted by a needle-stick injury outside a health-care setting.