Students possibly infected

3 April 2007

BRUSSELS – Some 20 nursing students at the Catholic Hogeschool of Mechelen have received a letter that they may have been exposed to infection by hepatitis B, C or the HIV virus.

The students may have been exposed to infection last Friday when they were practicing drawing blood on themselves as part of their training. It turned out later that they had shared needles when doing so, VTM reported on Monday.

Piet Bloemen, director of the Nursing department, says the chance of effective infection is very small. “The students in question may have used one needle twice. We will have to wait for the results of the blood test but the chance of infection is small.”

Bloemen added that this was the first time such a mix up had taken place within his department.

Subject: Belgian news