Teacher should have known better!

[Teresa]

This was on the news tonight. Happened in Salina, Kansas.

A lesson in anatomy class ends with a teacher suspended with pay.  It happened at Salina South.

The superintendent says, the teacher had about fifty students draw a drop of their own blood using the same lancet.  The students were studying the structure of white and red blood cells.

At first, students say they questioned and even refused to take part in the experiment, but the teacher forced them to, and assured them it was safe.

The health department says, the risk for students is minimal - but that isn't reassuring to parents.  The school district is working to schedule a base line blood test for HIV and Hepatitis B & C.

The district says the teacher has taught before, but this is her first year with Salina South.  She is on paid suspension as the district investigates what happened.

We did contact the teacher we believe is involved, she says she has no comment.

http://www.kwch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=KWCH/MGArticle/WCH_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190708601

The news said about 50 students were envolved.

[allopathicholistic]

The superintendent says, the teacher had about fifty students draw a drop of their own blood using the same lancet. 

    

that teach needs her head examined!!!!!

[blondbeauty]

Unbelievable!

[Iggy]

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[Matty the Damned]

Hell, we got to taste breast-milk in Year 9 science. It wasn't that bad.

MtD

[RapidRod]

Sounds like to much about nothing.

[poobear]

I have to disagree with RapidRod.  It is a big fucking deal.  If you do not know this already there are kids in school who have been infected since birth or kids in highschool who we have in our family here who are infected and still in school.  If I was a parent I would be livid.  this is my opinion.  Rachel

[Matty the Damned]

Rachel,

Acutally Rod is correct. This isn't a big fucking deal. The risk of HIV being transmitted in this way is miniscule. Theoretical even. Like myself, Rod answers many questions about this sort of stuff in Am I Infected? so he's pretty clued up on how HIV is and is not transmitted.

Parental panic, whilst an admirable trait in many ways is most unhelpful in these situations. None of these kids were at any real risk of HIV transmission from this. Invasive procedures should not be compulsory, but neither should mindless hysteria of ignorant parents.

MtD

[wellington]

Yikes!

Kinda reminds me of a story when in Grade 10 Biology, saliva under a microscope showed signs of sperm. Someone got a little red in the face that day, among other things.

[Ann]

There was no risk of hiv infection in this case. Hep C, maybe, but very unlikely.

Also, one would hope that while she was using the same lancet, common sense would dictate that it was being wiped off with an alcohol swab in between and the kids' fingers were also being swabbed prior to being stuck.

The biggest danger here would be a bacterial infection at the site of the puncture, not any virus.

Ann

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[poobear]

obviously I am no expert but I do work in the health field and OK I do agree the possibility maybe minuscule, but the minuscule part is still there.  The cost of lancets is so cheap I am wondering why each student did not have their own.  This is just very poor practice.  And I still stand by my word and I would still be very upset if my child was in that class.  When you go to the hospital you can not use the same lancet on different people for reasons.  You can't even use the same pair of gloves for different patients for reasons, so why should this universal percations not be used in the classroom.  Rachel

[Ann]

Hi Poo,

I totally agree - this should never have happened. However, it does sound like they are blowing the whole hiv thing out of proportion. It's just one of those situations that does nothing to promote real hiv awareness - it's just scaremongering. The truth is, the real threat in this situation would come from bacterial infections - but I guess that doesn't sell newspapers.

Ann