Pakistan Hospital Probed Over Syringe Reuse, HIV Outbreak

Pakistan’s health authorities are facing renewed scrutiny after an investigation found unsafe injection practices continuing at a government hospital in Taunsa, Punjab, despite a local HIV outbreak among children. Officials had previously pledged a “massive crackdown” and suspended the hospital’s medical superintendent in March 2025, but the investigation said risky procedures persisted later in 2025.

The investigation, conducted by BBC Eye, reported that staff at THQ Taunsa repeatedly reused syringes on multi-dose medicine vials. The practice was recorded on 10 separate occasions during 32 hours of undercover filming in late 2025. In four instances, medicine drawn from a single vial described as contaminated was then administered to different children, which the investigation said created a clear risk of viral transmission.

Medical experts cited in the investigation said that even if a fresh needle is used, the syringe body can still carry and transfer the virus when it is reused on multi-dose vials. The footage also showed staff, including a doctor, injecting patients without sterile gloves 66 times. The investigation further described discarded needles found alongside open syringes and vials left on countertops, adding to concerns about infection control inside the facility.

The investigation documented 331 children testing positive for HIV in Taunsa between November 2024 and October 2025. The outbreak was first identified in late 2024 by a private doctor who noticed a rise in pediatric HIV cases, with most affected children reported to have received treatment at THQ Taunsa. Data from the Punjab provincial AIDS screening program cited in the investigation listed “contaminated needle” as the transmission mode for over half of the 331 cases.

After the March 2025 suspension of the hospital’s medical superintendent, a new medical superintendent later said the hospital had adopted a “zero tolerance” policy and that staff had been trained. However, the undercover footage presented by the investigation indicated unsafe injection practices continued eight months after his appointment, raising questions about enforcement and oversight at the facility.

For Pakistan’s broader public health system, the episode underscores the operational challenge of ensuring safe injection standards in government facilities, particularly during an active outbreak. The uncertainty highlighted by the investigation is whether the practices shown were isolated to specific staff and shifts or reflected wider, persistent failures in infection control across the hospital’s services.