HIV: Family's needle prick agony

2005-06-13
www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk
13 June 2005

THE family of a schoolboy faces an agonising wait for results of an HIV test after he pricked himself on a discarded needle.
Little Kyle Wilkinson (6) was playing outside his home in Risby, Bretton, Peterborough, when he picked up the syringe.

His distraught mum Bianca said: "Kyle was just outside the front door playing. He saw a needle and, as inquisitive children do, picked it up. He was playing with it and managed to prick his fingers.

"He came back into the house and could immediately see the panic in my eyes, so he told me that he hadn't pricked himself."

It was only the next day at school that Kyle admitted to a teacher that the needle had penetrated his skin.

He was taken straight to hospital and blood samples were taken for tests. He is now undergoing regular booster injections to immunise him against hepatitis.

"He is fine in himself, but this has devastated me. It's going to be five months before we get the results.

"All the kids play out at the front, I thought it was safe. This is a nice area and you don't expect needles to be right outside your front door.

"It is every parent's nightmare, because you can't wrap them up in cotton wool. I just feel a real hatred for these people who drop their dirty needles where kids play, it's disgusting."

The shock comes just days after seven-year-old Cameron Toulouse-Lisle received the news that he was clear of HIV after an agonising wait.

Cameron was playing rugby with his brother Axel (10) near their home in Essendyke, Bretton, when he fell into a pile of nine needles, in January.

Since the incident, the family has found a further 13 needles, while walking their dog, which they have disposed of at Thorpe Wood Police Station.

Ms Wilkinson added: "That is two kids who have been pricked by needles in the same area within a few months. It is extremely worrying, something needs to be done."

Jennie Kendall, spokeswoman for Peterborough City Council, said: "If a member of the public finds a needle, they must contact the council, which will send out officers who are specially trained to dispose of it.

"We would once again issue a plea to those using syringes to dispose of them responsibly at one of the many needle exchange outlets in the city."

Anyone who finds discarded needles should call the council on 01733 747474.