Paediatrician accused of reusing syringes after 900 children diagnosed with HIV
At least 900 children have tested positive for HIV amid allegations a paediatrician repeatedly reused old syringes in Pakistan.
Muzaffar Ghanghro has been charged with negligence, manslaughter and causing unintentional harm following the outbreak in the small city of Ratodero in April.
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The paediatrician, believed to have been charging 16p per visit for the area's poorest parents, works as a GP at a government hospital.
So far 1,100 people are positive for the virus but health officials fear the number of those infected could be far higher as less than a quarter of the city's 200,000 population has been tested.
At least 900 children have tested positive for HIV amid allegations a paediatrician repeatedly reused old syringes in Pakistan.
Muzaffar Ghanghro has been charged with negligence, manslaughter and causing unintentional harm following the outbreak in the small city of Ratodero in April.
The paediatrician, believed to have been charging 16p per visit for the area's poorest parents, works as a GP at a government hospital.
So far 1,100 people are positive for the virus but health officials fear the number of those infected could be far higher as less than a quarter of the city's 200,000 population has been tested.
Another resident, Imtiaz Jalbani, said Ghanghro treated all six of his children and four of them contracted HIV.
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His 14-month-old child and three-year-old daughter have now died.
He alleges that he saw the paediatrician rummage through rubbish for a syringe to use on his six-year-old son - who also has the virus - and that when confronted Ghanghro claimed he was only doing so because Mr Jalbani was too poor to pay for a new one, according to The New York Times.
Ghanghro reportedly insisted he is innocent and never reused syringes, and health officials have said he is unlikely to be the only cause of the outbreak, as there was evidence of numerous doctors reusing syringes.
They added barbers often use the same razor on multiple customers, and roadside dentists are known to use unsterilized tools.
The unhygienic practices are thought to be the main cause of Pakistan's soaring HIV rates, according to health officials, who added the virus is likely to be far more prevalent in Ratodero because of how poor it is.